Background: Many issues prevent elderly individuals from exercising in daily life. There is a need for a system
that allows elderly individuals to engage in exercise regularly at a low cost. We developed an exergame that
uses a Kinect sensor (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) and conducted a randomized controlled trial of the
effects of using this exergame on muscle strength and balance in healthy elderly individuals. Subjects and Methods: We enrolled 57 healthy elderly individuals and randomly divided them into an intervention group (n = 29) and a control group (n = 28) using a table of random numbers. All participants underwent gait analyses and were examined using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Reach Test (FRT), and the 30-second chair-stand (CS-30) test before the intervention. Participants in the intervention group played the exergame once or twice a week, up to a total of 24 times. The tests were repeated after intervention, and the scores were compared with those obtained before intervention. Results: Our results indicated that walking, muscle strength, and motor function improved in participants in the intervention group. Decreased double standing time (P = 0.03), minimum foot clearance (P = 0.04), BBS scores (P < 0.01), CS-30 scores (P < 0.01), and FRT scores (P < 0.01) significantly improved in the intervention group compared with values in the control group.Conclusions: The Kinect-based exergame developed in this study was found to be effective in improving walking, muscular strength, and balance in elderly people.
Vol.4(3):161-167
Keizo Sato, Kaoru Kuroki, Syuko Saiki, Ryoichi Nagatomi
