Poster (Clinical/Best Practice Implementation) ID 1981325

Many barriers prevent those with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) from adhering to recommended exercise guidelines, thus increasing risks of secondary health conditions. Mainstream technology options, such as virtual reality (VR), have the potential to facilitate needed exercise participation. However, further research on VR exercise modalities is needed to determine feasibility, effectiveness and to ultimately guide practice recommendations. The goal of this pilot feasibility study was to determine whether VR exergaming is non-inferior to the current standard of care (SoC) upper extremity aerobic exercise for individuals with SCI/D. 25 participants with SCI/D completed 10-minute exercise sessions with either VR or the SoC, and after a rest break, then completed 10 minutes of exercise with the other modality. Primary outcomes of heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected at baseline, 5 minutes into exercise, and at 10 min (end of the exercise session) for each modality. Secondary exploratory measures included a Numeric Pain Rating Scale measured pre- and post- each exercise session, and a post-study likeability survey. There were no significant differences in HR or RPE between virtual reality exergaming and the standard of care, and 100% of participants preferred the VR over SoC for the exercise. VR exergaming was non-inferior to the SoC for short duration upper extremity exercise in those with SCI/D. Implementing VR for patients with SCI/D should be studied further to observe the longer term effect on cardiovascular health and to determine feasibility and compliance for home use.