Evaluating the Impact of 6-Week Gamified Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program on Pain, Function, and…

Randomized trialGames for health journal· Aug 2026

Evaluating the Impact of 6-Week Gamified Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program on Pain, Function, and Balance in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Moayad S Subahi, Mohamed S Alayat, Fahda M Alshaikh … Mansour Abdullah Alshehri

Musculoskeletal RehabilitationRandomized trialTreatmentQ1IF 3.8

Adding virtual reality gaming to physical therapy cut knee osteoarthritis pain more than therapy alone

Evaluating the Impact of 6-Week Gamified Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program on Pain, Function, and Balance in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Moayad S Subahi … Mansour Abdullah Alshehri

Games for health journal · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Rehabilitation

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a gamified virtual reality (virtual reality) rehabilitation program, using immersive virtual reality combined with conventional conventional physical therapy (conventional physical therapy), on pain, functional mobility, disability, and balance in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis).

Methods

Underwent three sessions per week for 6 weeks.

n = 90 volunteered participants

Results

pain dropped more with virtual reality added to therapy than therapy alone

38.6%

VR pain reduction

26.3%

Control pain reduction

More results

WOMAC improved substantially in the virtual reality group (57.9%) compared with the control group (25%).

Pain reduction became significantly greater in the virtual reality group in the third week.

Significant between-group differences at postintervention ( P < 0.001) were observed for Visual Analog Scale, 6MWT, and WOMAC.

More results

Both groups demonstrated significant within-group improvements in balance; however, no significant between-group difference was found for Berg Balance Scale ( P = 0.090).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Integrating a gamified virtual reality rehabilitation program alongside conventional physical therapy significantly reduces pain and improves mobility and knee function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

The findings support using virtual reality as an effective adjunct to traditional physiotherapy, improving engagement and clinical outcomes.

Evaluating the Impact of 6-Week Gamified Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program on Pain, Function, and Balance in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Evaluating the Impact of 6-Week Gamified Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program on Pain, Function, and Balance in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

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