| Aguirre-Carvajal & Marchant-Pérez24 |
Describe the effect of early physiotherapy on upper limb pain and function in mastectomy patients using virtual reality exercises |
32 minutes per day, three days a week, totaling 10 sessions |
Intervention group: exergaming. |
Functionality of the ipsilateral upper extremity of the mastectomy by means of the QuickDASH scale and pain through the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) |
77 |
26-83 |
Women with unilateral mastectomy without shoulder injuries |
Nintendo Wii |
Improvement in functionality of ipsilateral upper extremity of mastectomy and pain reduction |
| Control group: no intervention. |
| Silva Alves et al.25 |
Evaluate the influence of an exercise protocol on cancer-related fatigue, muscle fatigue and muscle strength in cancer patients |
20 sessions of exergaming, with variable number of sessions per week according to exercise tolerance |
Only exergaming |
Fatigue assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) questionnaire and lower limb muscle strength with an isometric dynamometer |
45 |
18-80 |
Any type of cancer that was not stage IV |
Xbox360 Kinect ™: “Wall Breaker,” “Stomp It,” “Run the World,” “Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012” |
Fatigue reduction and increased muscle strength of lower limbs |
| Sabel et al.26 |
Investigate whether active video game (AVG) can provide pleasant physical exercises; what level of physical activity can be achieved; and whether physical functioning can improve in children with brain tumor |
30 minutes a day, five days a week, for 10 to 12 weeks |
Only exergaming |
Physical performance through the Bruininks-Osteretsky Test of Motor Performance (BOT-2) |
13 |
7-17 |
Brain tumor |
Nintendo Wii: “Wii Sports,” “Wii Sports Resort,” “Wii Fit,” “Wii Fit Plus,” “Just Dance” 1-3, “Michael Jackson - the Experience” |
Improvement in BOT-2 body coordination item |
| Rosipal et al.27 |
Examine exercise behavior and preferences among hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients of adolescents and young adults |
Minimum of 60 minutes per week throughout the hospitalization period |
Patients could choose between performing exergaming with Nintendo Wii, stationary bike with video game or dance game ‘Dance dance revolution.’ Besides, they could also go hiking, do strengthening exercises and/or play basketball |
Physical performance was evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) and the Timed-Up-and-Go test (TUG); the Behavioral, Affective, and Somatic Experiences Scale-Child Version (BASES-C) was used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQL) |
18 |
13-25 |
Hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients |
Nintendo Wii, Stationary Bike with video games / “Wii Fit,” “Dance Dance Revolution” |
No improvement in quality of life and physical performance |
| Jahn et al.28 |
Explore the application of the Nintendo Wii game console to motivate adult cancer patients to be physically active during treatment periods |
30 minutes per day for 5 days |
Only exergaming |
Levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior through General Activity Questionnaire; health-related quality of life through the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30); mood status and perception of time assessed through interviews |
7 |
47 - 70 |
Hospitalized cancer patients receiving radiotherapy or combined radio therapy and chemotherapy |
Nintendo Wii / “Wii Sports,” “Family Trainer,” “Sports Island,” “Family Ski and Snowboard” |
Patients lost track of time and felt distracted from the daily routine of the hospital. Improved mood and motivation in performing physical activity |
| Kauhanen et al.8 |
Evaluate the effect of active video games on the promotion of physical activity in children with cancer |
30 minutes per day, for 8 weeks, with 2-year and 6-month follow-up |
Intervention group: exergaming and conventional therapy, as needed; |
Levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior through The Fitbit Tracker accelerometer; Engine performance through the Movement test Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC); and fatigue through the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale questionnaire |
- |
3-16 |
Any type of cancer outside the CNS |
Nintendo Wii / “Wii Fit” |
Study not completed |
| Control group: general information on physical activity and conventional therapy, as needed |
| Tsuda et al.29 |
Investigate the feasibility and safety of virtual reality exercise intervention using Nintendo Wii Fit in patients with hematological neoplasms receiving chemotherapy |
20 minutes a day, 5 days a week, from the start of chemotherapy to hospital discharge |
Intervention group: exergaming and conventional therapy, as needed; |
Physical performance evaluated with barthel index, Timed-Up-and-Go test (TUG) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Psychosocial functioning assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) |
16 |
66 |
Hematological Neoplasms |
Nintendo Wii / “Wii Fit” |
Maintenance of physical performance and psychosocial functioning |
| Yoon et al.30 |
Assess the benefit of virtual reality-based rehabilitation in upper extremity function in patients with brain tumor |
30 minutes a day, five days a week, for 3 weeks |
Intervention group: exergaming and conventional therapy, as needed; |
Upper extremity function evaluated using the Brunnstrom approach, manual function test (MFT), Box and Block test (BBT) of manual dexterity and Fugl-Meyer scale (FMS); and the Ashworth scale modified to classify spasticity |
40 |
49 |
Brain tumor |
IREX System / “Birds and Balls,” “Coconuts,” “Conveyor,” “Drums,” “Juggler” and “Soccer” |
Improved proximal function of upper extremities |
| Control group: only conventional occupational therapy |
| Hoffman et al.31 |
Evaluate the viability, acceptability, safety and changes in the endpoints of the study of a home exercise intervention to improve perceived self-efficacy for self-management of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) for people after thoracotomy for NSCLC |
5 days a week for 6 weeks |
Only exergaming |
Fatigue assessed by the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI); self-efficacy perceived by Perceived Selfefficacy for Fatigue Self-management (PSEFSM); the instrument of self-efficacy for walking; and the activity-specific balance Confidence Scale |
7 |
53-73 |
Non-small cell lung cancer |
Nintendo Wii / “Wii Fit Plus” |
Improvement in perceived self-efficacy for self-management of cancer-related fatigue |