Women with fibromyalgia’s experience with three motion-controlled video game consoles and indicators of symptom severity and performance of activities of daily living

Abstract

Purpose: Little is known of Motion-Controlled Video Games (MCVGs) as an intervention for people with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to explore the experience women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) had, using commercially available MCVGs; and to investigate indicators of symptom severity and performance of activities of daily living (ADL). Method: Of 15 female participants diagnosed with FMS, 7 completed a program of five sessions with Nintendo Wii (Wii), five sessions with PlayStation 3 Move (PS3 Move) and five sessions with Microsoft Xbox Kinect (Xbox Kinect). Interviews were conducted at baseline and post-intervention and were supported by data from observation and self-reported assessment. Results: Participants experienced play with MCVGs as a way to get distraction from pain symptoms while doing fun and manageable exercise. They enjoyed the slow pace and familiarity of Wii, while some considered PS3 Move to be too fast paced. Xbox Kinect was reported as the best console for exercise. There were no indication of general improvement in symptom severity or performance of ADL. Conclusion: This study demonstrated MCVG as an effective healthcare intervention for the women with FMS who completed the program, with regards to temporary pain relief and enjoyable low impact exercise.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Exercise is recommended in the management of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

• People with FMS often find it counterintuitive to exercise because of pain exacerbation, which may influence adherence to an exercise program.

• Motion-controlled video games may offer temporary pain relief and fun low impact exercise for women with FMS.

• Assistive technology
• chronic pain
• distraction
• Nintendo Wii
• PlayStation 3 Move
• qualitative content analysis
• virtual reality
• Xbox Kinect

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the women who participated in this study and rheumatologist Hans-Jacob Haga for recruiting participants and gathering data on pain and fatigue. We also wish to thank Eva Ejlersen Wæhrens for allowing use of ADL-Q.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The Danish Association of Occupational Therapists supported this study.

Notes

¹This issue is addressed in the latest Kinect for PC that evolved from the original Xbox Kinect used in this study.