SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1612882
This article is part of the Research TopicStrategies for Combatting Age-Related Decline through Targeted Exercise ProgramsView all 4 articles
The effectiveness of virtual reality in people with osteoporosis or osteopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 2Heilongjiang Nursing College, HarBin City, China
- 3Shanxi Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
- 4Heilongjiang Winter Sport Vocational College, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
- 5Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of traditional Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
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Background: Osteoporosis is a global bone disease, and drug therapy carries the risk of side effects, requiring exploration of safe and effective alternative therapies. Virtual reality (VR) has shown potential in rehabilitation medicine, but its efficacy in the management of osteoporosis and osteopenia has not been systematically evaluated.Method：Using PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, we conducted a comprehensive database search to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of VR on osteoporosis and bone loss. Trials published up to 30 March 2025 met our predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted data, reviewed the literature. We assessed the methodological quality of the included trials and the certainty of the pooled evidence. Meta-analyses were performed usingResults：Our meta-analysis included 216 patients from 5 RCTs. All cases included in our study adopted the non-immersive VR intervention approach. Femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) (standardized mean difference [SMD]=0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.35-1.19, P<0.0001, I² =0%), balance (SMD=2.58, 95% CI=1.10-4.05, P=0.001, I² =91.2%) and mobility (SMD=1.63, 95% CI=0.14-3.13, P=0.032, I² =93.7%) were improved compared to the control group. However, lumbar BMD (SMD = 0.39, 95% CI: -0.02, 0.80, P = 0.062, I² = 0%) and quality of life (QOL) (SMD = 2.50, 95% CI: -2.15, 7.16, P = 0.292, I² = 97.4%) were not significantly improved compared to the control group. None of the included studies reported adverse events or safety data.This systematic evaluation provides valuable evidence for the management of osteoporosis and osteopenia through VR. However, given the overall low and very low level of evidence, the results need to be treated with caution. In the future, VR may be a potential treatment for osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Keywords: osteopenia, virtual reality, Exercise, Aging, Osteoporosis
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, Dong, Lin, Wang, Diao and Gao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiao Gao, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of traditional Chinese Medicine, Harbin, 150070, Heilongjiang Province, China
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