Designing an Exergame and Clinical Evaluation of its Effect on Pain Sensation and Muscle Strength in People with Cervical Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Cervical Osteoarthritis is a disease resulting from degeneration of facet joints in vertebra.It may be associated with paresthesia, muscle weakness in limbs, and severe pain in neck, shoulder, and back, spinal cord dysfunction, and myelopathy. Cervical Osteoarthritis is prevalent especially for elder people. The aim of this study was to design an exergame and clinical evaluation of its effect on pain sensation and muscle strength in people with cervical osteoarthritis.

This study is a randomized clinical trial study. Twenty three patients was referred to the Shariati Hospital Physiotherapy Clinic, which was presented by an orthopedic specialist. Subjects were randomly allocated into two groups 12 patients in the exercise with game group and 11 patients in the routine exercise group. The exercise with game group received routine physiotherapy treatment with performing isometric neck exercises with a exergame and the routine exercise group received routine physiotherapy treatment with isometric exercises without playing. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks and 3 sessions per week. Neck Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale and isometric strength of neck muscles were measured in three steps (baseline, posttreatment assessment and follow-up at 1 month) by functional disability assessment questionnaire,visual scale of pain and hand-held dynamometer, respectively.

The results of this study showed that in both routine treatment and treatment with exergame groups, mean neck muscle strength increased, followed by mean pain intensity and mean level of functional disability. In the treatment with exergame group, the pain intensity was significantly lower than the routine treatment group (P = 0.048).

One of the main challenges in Exergame designing was to perform isometric neck exercises with specific repetition, intensity, and duration, the standard training protocol. Playing with the game gradually improved neck pain and neck functional level in patients with cervical osteoarthritis.