Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise

Zhang, Hongfei; Hu, Wenjun; Li, Zaisheng; Jiang, Man; Zhang, Qing; Kortas, Jakub

doi:10.3390/app16115297

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Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise

by

Hongfei Zhang

^1,*

,

Wenjun Hu

¹

,

Zaisheng Li

²,

Man Jiang

¹

,

Qing Zhang

¹ and

Jakub Kortas

^1,*

¹

Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland

²

Department of Public Physical Education, Shanxi Engineering Vocational College, Taiyuan 030013, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(11), 5297; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115297

Submission received: 22 April 2026 / Revised: 18 May 2026 / Accepted: 21 May 2026 / Published: 25 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virtual Reality and Emerging Technologies in Physical Activity, Sports and Healthcare)

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Abstract

Balance and postural control are important for safe movement in college students. This six-week randomized trial compared an HTC Vive Cosmos-based gamified virtual reality (VR) balance program with traditional balance and coordination exercises in 62 college students (VR: n = 32; control: n = 30). Both groups trained three times per week for 30 min per session. Outcomes included single-leg stance with eyes closed (SLST-EC; primary), Y-Balance Test composite score (YBT; secondary), and rotary stability (secondary), assessed before and after the intervention. Both programs were associated with improvements over time. The VR group showed greater improvement than the control group in SLST-EC, with a large between-group effect (Cohen’s d = 1.245), and this between-group difference remained significant after adjustment for baseline values. For YBT, both groups improved, but no clear overall between-group advantage was observed after accounting for baseline differences. Rotary stability also improved in both groups, without a significant between-group difference. Overall, gamified VR showed the clearest between-group advantage for static balance and may serve as a feasible supplement to balance training in college settings.

Keywords: virtual reality; balance training; Y-balance test; SLST-EC; rotary stability; college students

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, H.; Hu, W.; Li, Z.; Jiang, M.; Zhang, Q.; Kortas, J. Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise. Appl. Sci. 2026, 16, 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115297

AMA Style

Zhang H, Hu W, Li Z, Jiang M, Zhang Q, Kortas J. Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(11):5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115297

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Hongfei, Wenjun Hu, Zaisheng Li, Man Jiang, Qing Zhang, and Jakub Kortas. 2026. "Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise" Applied Sciences 16, no. 11: 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115297

APA Style

Zhang, H., Hu, W., Li, Z., Jiang, M., Zhang, Q., & Kortas, J. (2026). Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise. Applied Sciences, 16(11), 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16115297

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Gamified Virtual Reality Balance Training in College Students: A Six-Week Comparative Study with Traditional Exercise

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