Effect of cyber-golfing on balance amongst the elderly in Hong Kong: A pilot randomised trial

Abstract

Background/Objective Recent evidence showed that golf can develop balance amongst the elderly. This study aimed at evaluating if exergaming, in particular cyber-golfing, can be a feasible and inexpensive alternative to this valuable exercise.

Methods Twenty healthy community-dwelling elderly were recruited, and they were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 10) or the control group (n = 10). Daily cyber-golfing training for 2 weeks was assigned to the participants of the experimental group, where regular table games with equal lengths and durations were arranged for the control group.

Results The results revealed that the participants in the experimental group showed significantly better post-training performances in the functional-reach test, F(_2,17) = 5.16, p = .04, and single-leg-stance test, F(_2,17) = 5.32, p = .03, than those in the control group.

Conclusion The results of this study suggest that cyber-golfing might be an alternative to golfing, which is capable of enhancing balance ability amongst community-dwelling elderly. The potential of exergaming as a clinical tool for geriatric rehabilitation was discussed.