RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Investigate the physiological responses to active video games (AVG) in individuals with spinal cord injury by comparing oxygen consumption (VO2) and heart rate (HR) during an AVG session and at the ventilatory thresholds (i.e., anaerobic threshold and respiratory compensation point); and by calculating the session energy expenditure (EE). METHOD: Eight paraplegic individuals with spinal cord injury underwent cardiopulmonary exercise tests in an arm cycle ergometer to determine ventilatory thresholds. Then, they underwent three experimental sessions: two of AVG (4 sets of 3 min of Tennis and 4 min of Boxing) and one control (watching a movie). HR and VO2 were continuously measured, and the total energy expenditure was calculated from it. RESULTS: HR and VO2 were similar in both AVG sessions and higher than in the control session (p < .05). Mean HR and VO2 in Tennis and Boxing were, respectively, 100 ± 7 and 114 ± 9 bpm and 7.9 ± 1.2 and 10.3 ± 1.4 ml.kg-1.min-1.HR and VO2 during both games did not differ significantly from the anaerobic threshold (121 ± 2 bpm and 10.6 ± 1.0 ml.kg-1.min-1, p > .05). Mean energy expenditure during the AVG sessions was 2.4 METS, while the total was 136 kcal. CONCLUSION: The AVG generated an aerobic stimulus equivalent to the anaerobic threshold that increased basal metabolism 2.6 times, characterizing a low-intensity aerobic exercise.
Assuntos
Traumatismos da Medula Espinal , Jogos de Vídeo , Metabolismo Energético/fisiologia , Exercício Físico/fisiologia , Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Humanos , Consumo de Oxigênio/fisiologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether virtual reality games (VRGs) in stroke survivors produce significant and reproducible heart rate and oxygen consumption (VËo2) responses during their execution, corresponding to an intensity between the anaerobic threshold (AT) and the respiratory compensation point (RCP). DESIGN: Single-subject, repeated-measure design. SETTING: Stroke survivors registered from a rehabilitation program. PARTICIPANTS: Chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors (N=12; 10 men; mean age ± SD, 58±12y) rated at 3 or 4 in the Functional Ambulation Categories. INTERVENTIONS: Participants underwent, in a random order, 2 identical sessions of VRGs (console Xbox 360 + Kinect) and 1 control session (38min watching a movie). The VRG sessions were composed of 4 sets of VRGs (3min of tennis, 1min for changing the game, and 4min of boxing) interspaced with 2 minutes of rest. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Heart rate and VËo2 were measured during the experimental sessions and compared with heart rate and VËo2 obtained at AT and RCP assessed during a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. RESULTS: Heart rate and VËo2 during VRGs had good reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficients, ≥.91 and ≥.85, respectively; coefficients of variation, ≤6.7% and ≤13.7%, respectively). Heart rate during VRGs was similar to AT and significantly lower than RCP (P≤.05), while VËo2 was significantly lower than AT and RCP (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: An acute session of VRGs composed of tennis and boxing games using the console XBox 360 + Kinect promotes reproducible responses of heart rate and VËo2 that corresponded, respectively, to AT and below AT, characterizing a low-intensity aerobic stimulus.