VIRTUAL REALITY IN BALANCE TRAINING IN THE ELDERLY: A REVISION STUDY

Abstract

The natural aging process triggers a series of physiological changes in the individual. The onset of body balance disorders is one of the main changes in that process and may cause the person’s loss of independence, due to the predisposition to falls. This study aims to verify the role of virtual reality for balance training in the elderly with electronic games as a form of treatment for these patients. This is a literature review through the query of the PubMed/MEDLINE; Lilacs/SciELO; and Cochrane databases, using the following terms, with their corresponding Portuguese translation: “balance” and “virtual reality” and “older” or “elderly” or “aging.” A few studies were found in the revised literature that address this theme, but the interventionist studies carried with the elderly offer favorable results to the improvement of balance in the elderly through the training with virtual reality. However, there is still a gap in the literature concerning the quality of published researches, since there are few randomized clinical essays and systematic literature reviews and thus, there is a need for more researches in the area aiming to increase the scientific rigor and contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on this theme.