Exergaming as functional test battery in patients with an arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis: a preliminary experience (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Recently, movement-based videogames (exergames) have gained popularity in improving the rehabilitation process after surgery. During exergaming, participants are physically challenged as the game component stimulates adherence to the training program. There is no literature on the effect of exergame training interventions in patients who received arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis. OBJECTIVE This pilot study assessed the potency of an existing exergaming tool for the rehabilitation program of patients who received arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis. METHODS A cross-sectional pilot study was performed, in which patients who received arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis (n=8) were subjected to an exergaming protocol. Gait analysis was performed with a treadmill system. A healthy age-matched control group (n=10) was used as the control group. RESULTS The patient group was capable of performing exergaming exercises and they showed no floor or ceiling effect. Only in case of the overall stability, the patient group performed significantly less better than the control group (P=.03). Gait analysis showed equal step length with increased external rotation of the affected limb. CONCLUSIONS Exergaming seems to be a valuable tool for measuring the ability of patients who received AAA to perform activities of daily living and it has the potential to individualize rehabilitation programs. When exergaming is systematically integrated with patient-reported outcome measures and activity tracking, it has the potential to improve the quality of care.