Advocating for Action: Exploring the Potential of Virtual Reality in Breathing Exercise – A Review of The Clinical Applications

Abstract

The emergence of virtual reality (VR) technologies is currently shaping the healthcare system and is now being employed in various healthcare interventions. Pulmonary rehabilitation remains one such area in which VR is currently thriving to ensure overall health and well-being. While the importance of these novel technologies is being primarily researched in pulmonary rehabilitation, especially over passive conventional breathing exercise training, there seems to be a limited number of studies that have comprehensively put together these findings. This study utilizes a scoping review methodology to review VR exercises in clinical settings related to pulmonary rehabilitation. To achieve this objective, three electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library) were searched using a formulated search string related to the research objective. Following the database search, a total of 236 references were retrieved and managed using the reference manager. The screening of references was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 screening process, and their quality was assessed using the JBI checklist. Ultimately, a total of eight publications of high quality were selected for inclusion in the scoping review. The results of the synthesis validate the importance of utilizing VR in the context of breathing exercise in rehabilitation. The effectiveness and rapid development of VR breathing exercises are primarily attributed to the engaging and immersive experience they provide. The use of biofeedback and self-regulation techniques into VR exercise systems was also seen to have a notable impact on the effectiveness of the breathing exercise system.

Keywords:

• virtual reality
• breathing exercise
• pulmonary rehabilitation
• biofeedback
• respiratory rate
• COPD

Abbreviations

COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CDH, congenital diaphragmatic hernia; DB, diaphragmatic breathing; FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in one second; HIIT, high-intensity interval training; JBI, Jonna Briggs Institute; VR, virtual reality; VRBT, virtual reality-based therapy; PNS, parasympathetic nervous system; PR, Pulmonary rehabilitation.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the College of Applied Medical Sciences Research Center and the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University.

Disclosure

The author reports no conflicts of interest in this work.