Improving motor performance: Selected aspects of augmented feedback in exercise and health

Abstract

Augmented feedback (AF) can play an important role when learning or improving a motor skill. As research dealing with AF is broad and diverse, the purpose of this review is to provide the reader with an overview of the use of AF in exercise, motor learning and injury prevention research with respect to how it can be presented, its informational content and the limitations. The term ‘augmented’ feedback is used because additional information provided by an external source is added to the task-intrinsic feedback that originates from a person's sensory system. In recent decades, numerous studies from various fields within sport science (exercise science, sports medicine, motor control and learning, psychology etc.) have investigated the potential influence of AF on performance improvements. The first part of the review gives a theoretical background on feedback in general but particularly AF. The second part tries to highlight the differences between feedback that is given as knowledge of result and knowledge of performance. The third part introduces studies which have applied AF in exercise and prevention settings. Finally, the limitations of feedback research and the possible reasons for the diverging findings are discussed. The focus of this review lies mainly on the positive influence of AF on motor performance. Underlying neuronal adaptations and theoretical assumptions from learning theories are addressed briefly.

Keywords:

• augmented feedback
• motor performance
• motor learning
• motor adaptation
• exercise
• health

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Bundesamt für Sport (BASPO; Switzerland). We are aware that many more authors have worked in the field of AF and motor control/learning. However, we could not cite their work due to reference limitations.