Virtual training, real effects: A narrative review on sports performance enhancement through interventions in virtual reality

Abstract

The present article reports a systematic literature review of intervention studies using Virtual Reality (VR) in sports contexts. It provides a qualitative overview and descriptive synthesis of such studies in order to clarify the potential benefits of this technology for sports performance enhancement. Possible applications include training of motor and psychological skills and capabilities in athletes, including perception-action skills, strategic, tactical and decision-making, responding to unexpected events, and enhancing psychological resilience and mental performance under pressure.Our systematic literature search and review included original intervention studies only. Theses, newspaper articles, comments, and opinion papers were excluded. This eventually resulted in twelve VR intervention studies (using a variety of VR systems) focused on different sports, including target and precision sports (e.g., archery, bowling, curling, darts, golf), bat/racquet and ball sports (e.g., baseball, table tennis), goal sports (e.g., football/soccer, basketball), martial arts (e.g., karate), and sport-unspecific processes such as bodily sensations, pain intensity, balancing, and psychological strategies. The samples investigated in the primary studies included novice, amateur, and expert athletes (total aggregated sample size N = 493).Many studies found statistically significant effects in relevant target skills following interventions in VR, often outperforming training effects in passive or active control conditions (e.g., using conventional training protocols). Therefore, interventions in VR have the potential to elicit real effects in sports performance enhancement. Some of the neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., visual search behavior, imagery), and methodological aspects (e.g., adaptive training difficulty) via which these sports-performance-related improvements may occur are discussed. Due to the heterogeneity of included studies, however, general recommendations for applied sports practice are premature. Finally, limitations of the included studies as well as the present review and future perspectives are taken into consideration.

Using Ankle Weights as an Effective Way to Increase the Intensity of Physical Activity While Playing Immersive Virtual Reality Games on an Omnidirectional Treadmill

“…It is used in healthcare, education, engineering, manufacturing, and entertainment, among others [1][2][3][4][5]. There is also a growing interest in using this technology in athletic training to diagnose and control athletes' motor skills and improve their sports performance [6][7][8][9]. Active virtual reality games (AVRGs), which require the user to do a physical exercise, are also becoming popular [10].…”

Study of the influence of psychological mood on the performance and mental health of athletes in VR-aided basketball training

“…The use of innovative information technologies and the positive experiences they entail for basketball players in physical training, stress management and psychological adaptation ( Post et al, 2020 ; Morales Téllez et al, 2021 ; Talha, 2022 ) make virtual sports an important part of healthy lifestyle ( Bum et al, 2018 ; Chen and Zhu, 2022 ; Hamad and Jia, 2022 ). Moreover, such an approach improves the mental health of athletes ( Hurley, 2021 ), trains their perceptual-cognitive skills ( Walton et al, 2018 ) and optimizes performance ( Bertollo and Terry, 2021 ; Siekańska et al, 2021 ; Richlan et al, 2022 ). Scientific literature suggests that students experience equal satisfaction from real-life and virtual basketball training ( Bum et al, 2018 ), but AI-assisted training improves the mental health of athletes to a greater extent than traditional gym training ( Zhang, 2022 ).…”

“…It is assumed that the basketball training system using VR technologies, ensuring an increase in the effectiveness of training, thereby helps to reduce their stress level, having a positive effect on the mental health of athletes ( Ma et al, 2020 ; Tsai et al, 2021 ). Therefore, the task of ensuring and supporting the psychological well-being of basketball athletes is more relevant than ever, and it is facilitated by the use of VR technology ( Richlan et al, 2022 ).…”

Do you have a good all-around view? Evaluation of a decision-making skills diagnostic tool using 360° videos and head-mounted displays in elite youth soccer

“…In other domains, such as surgery ( 55 ) or rehabilitation ( 56 ), the use of VR and HMD for skills training is an already established method. However, although there is preliminary evidence that athletic skills learned in virtual environments can be transferred into sport practice ( 57 , 58 ), it remains unclear whether complex sensorimotor skills can be effectively trained using this technology [for an overview see Richlan et al ( 45 )]. This is further complicated by the fact that generalizable statements on the effectiveness of training programs are hardly possible due to the different skills that are required in different sports.…”