Adapted High-Intensity Virtual Reality Exergaming

Feasibility of Vigorous Extended Reality Exergaming on Cardiometabolic Health in Youth With Mobility Disabilities: A Case Series

This study will test the acceptability and benefits of a home-based high-intensity virtual reality exercise program for young people with physical disabilities. The program will last 6 weeks. There will be a total of two visits to the laboratory for exercise-related health assessments. The program includes head-mounted displays (Meta Quest) and off-the-shelf games.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cerebral Palsy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Virtual reality exergaming

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 4
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35209
      • UAB Wellness Health and Research Facility

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• overweight or obese (based on CDC body mass index normative ranges for age and sex)
• physically inactive (<150 min/week of moderate exercise)
• Gross Motor Function Classification System level (GMFCS) levels I-IV
• Physician clearance to participate
• Wifi internet access at home

Exclusion Criteria:

• Complete blindness or deafness
• GMFCS level V
• Unable to communicate in English
• Prone to photosensitive seizures
• Pregnant (due to radiation from a Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry [DXA] scan

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Virtual Reality Exergaming Intervention; High-intensity active video gaming at the home.	Behavioral: Virtual reality exergaming; High-intensity active video gaming using head-mounted display.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total lean mass	lbs	week 0, week 7
Total fat mass	lbs	Week 0, Week 7
Systolic blood pressure	mmHg	Week 0, week 7
high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)	mg/L	Week 0, Week 7
hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C)	mmol/mol	Week 0, week 7
fasting insulin	μIU/mL	Week 0, week 7
Total cholesterol	mg/dL	Week 0, week 7
Low-density lipoprotein	mg/dL	Week 0, week 7
High-density lipoprotein	mg/dL	Week 0, week 7
Diastolic blood pressure	mmHg	Week 0, week 7

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Peak oxygen consumption (pVO2)	mlkg/min	Week 0, Week 7
Total work output	watts	Week 0, Week 7
Resting heart rate	beats/min	Week 0, week 7

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adolescent Food Habits Checklist	The short survey includes 23 items where the person can respond with True and False to a variety of healthy eating habit questions. The survey is scored by a frequency count of 1 point for each 'healthy' response. Final score achieved by summing number of 'healthy' responses x (23 / number of items completed).	Week 0, week 7
Frequency of technical problems with the technology and exercise	Participant report: 1) frequency of problems reported	Week 0 - 7
Type of technical problems with the technology and exercise	Participant report: 1) Type of problem	Week 0 - 7
Total minutes of intervention exercise	Total minutes of virtual reality exercise performed each week will be recorded and divided by the total prescribed 240 minutes per week across the 6 week program.	Week 0 - Week 6
Total vigorous-intensity minutes of intervention exercise	Vigorous-intensity minutes of virtual reality exercise performed each week will be recorded and divided by the target of 187 minutes per week across the 6 week program. Vigorous-intensity will be defined as >75% of age predicted heart rate maximum.	Week 0 - Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 3, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 2, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): September 4, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: telerehabilitation; telehealth; active video gaming
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Brain Damage, Chronic; Cerebral Palsy; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Exercise; Exergaming
• Other Study ID Numbers: 300014468; CEDHARS Pilot 2025 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All raw data will be published.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No