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

Abstract

The present article reports a narrative review of intervention (i.e., training) studies using Virtual Reality (VR) in sports contexts. It provides a qualitative overview and narrative summary of such studies to clarify the potential benefits of VR technology for sports performance enhancement, to extract the main characteristics of the existing studies, and to inform and guide future research. Our literature search and review eventually resulted in 12 intervention studies with a pre vs. post design focused on different sports, including target and precision sports (archery, bowling, curling, darts, golf), bat/racquet and ball sports (baseball, table tennis), goal sports (football/soccer, basketball), martial arts (karate), and sport-unspecific processes such as bodily sensations and balancing. 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 (or extended reality) have the potential to elicit real effects in sports performance enhancement through 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. The neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., visual search behavior, imagery), methodological aspects (e.g., adaptive training difficulty), and the issues of real-world transfer and generalizability via which these potential sports-performance-related improvements may occur are discussed. Finally, limitations of the present review, the included studies, the current state of the field in general as well as an outlook and future perspectives for research designs and directions are taken into consideration.

Factors Influencing Injury Severity and Frequency among Korean Sports Participants in Their 20s and 30s

“…The use of virtual reality is a good method to improve technical performance with a reduced likelihood of injury. In fact, in many sports, including racket sports, martial arts, ball sports, and target sports, practicing skills using virtual reality has helped participants to safely improve their performance and reduced the likelihood of injury [ 52 ]. This suggests that performing difficult techniques with a low risk of injury is possible.…”

The Role of Sport Psychology in Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation in Junior Athletes

“…In addition to visualization protocols, virtual reality technology provides promising opportunities for reducing stress and enhancing sports skills, even without active participation, by means of realistically simulating sports situations in virtual reality [ 70 , 71 , 72 ]. In sum, the available possibilities in terms of psychological interventions allow for the selection and tailoring of specific interventions to satisfy individual needs and preferences and to account for individual athlete responses to such interventions.…”

“…As already mentioned before, a relatively new and promising approach to prepare athletes for a return to sport is through training with virtual reality (VR) [ 71 ]. A review article by Bird [ 70 ] provides a comprehensive overview of the possibilities and limitations of this technology.…”

“…Numerous studies, including studies with junior athletes, have shown that VR training can improve sports-related skills without physical load. In addition, there is outstanding potential of this technology in terms of injury prevention and rehabilitation, as it enables athletes to engage in the learning, practice, and rehearsal of sports activities that in real life can be physically demanding or dangerous [ 71 ].…”

The Role of Virtual Reality in the Management of Football Injuries

“…Moreover, improving their scanning behavior could be especially useful for central midfielders. This would allow them to scan more, and a higher frequency is associated with a higher probability of completion [ 31 , 32 ]. The transferred skills resulting from VR perceptual–cognitive training could be proportional based on the degree of similarity between the training modality and the targeted skill.…”