Effect of Exergame Intervention on Balance Ability of Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Objective:Balance is a strong indicator of physical development of adolescents, and there is a trend of employing exergame for balance training. However, the effectiveness of exergame specifically designed for balance training on adolescents' balance abilities in various postures remains unclear. Materials and Methods:In this study, an exergame for balance training was developed with Kinect and a randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess its effect on balance ability development. Thirty-two healthy adolescents (age: 11.44 ± 0.51) were recruited to participate in an 8-week trial and randomly allocated to an exergame group (N = 16) or control group (N = 16). Results:The static balance test in the eagle stance posture and the dynamic balance test using the Y-Balance Test were both conducted before and after the intervention. From the results of Mann–Whitney U test, the intervention group presented greater improvement during the eagle stance test with eyes closed than the control group with P = 0.009 and P = 0.03 in left and right leg, respectively. The intervention group also showed a more significant improvement in dynamic balance (P = 0.002), which was reflected by the higher increase of composite scores. Furthermore, the balance ability when standing with nondominant leg or eyes closed, both presented higher improvements than standing with dominant leg or eyes opened, respectively. Moreover, 75% participants reported high interest and 87.5% participants expressed high engagement with exergame (score ≥4) using 5-score scale questionnaire. Conclusion:The proposed exergame for balance training could potentially promote balance training and serve as an educational tool for healthy adolescents to enhance their balance abilities.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In a recent randomized controlled trial, an exergame designed to train balance coordination improved both static and dynamic balance in adolescents.
“In a recent randomized controlled trial, an exergame designed to train balance coordination improved both static and dynamic balance in adolescents [79].”
From Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [79]
Exergames designed to train balance coordination improved both static and dynamic balance in adolescents.
“designed to train balance coordination improved both static and dynamic balance in adolescents [79].”
From Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [79]
Cites
How to Calculate Sample Size for Different Study Designs in Medical Research?
Charan, J., & Biswas, T. (2013) · Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.4103/0253-7176.116232 · Cited by 3,455 · see citing works
Microsoft Kinect Sensor and Its Effect
Zhang, Z. (2012) · IEEE Multimedia · doi:10.1109/mmul.2012.24 · Cited by 2,491 · see citing works
Gribble, P. A., Hertel, J. N., & Plisky, P. (2012) · Journal of Athletic Training · doi:10.4085/1062-6050-47.3.08 · Cited by 1,118 · see citing works
Risk factors for lower extremity injury: a review of the literature
Murphy, D. F., Connolly, D. A. J., & Beynnon, B. D. (2003) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.37.1.13 · Cited by 760 · see citing works
Normative Values for the Unipedal Stance Test with Eyes Open and Closed
Springer, B. A., Marin, R., Cyhan, T., Roberts, H., & Gill, N. W. (2007) · Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy · doi:10.1519/00139143-200704000-00003 · Cited by 735 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The training process takes reference from the unipedal stance test, 35 and balance training programs, 36,37 both of which include static and dynamic movements.”
Enjoyment mediates effects of a school-based physical-activity intervention
DISHMAN, R. K., MOTL, R. W., SAUNDERS, R., FELTON, G., WARD, D. S., DOWDA, M., & PATE, R. R. (2005) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000155391.62733.a7 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
Balance Training Improves Function and Postural Control in Those with Chronic Ankle Instability
McKeon, P. O., Ingersoll, C. D., Kerrigan, D. C., Saliba, E. N., Bennett, B. C., & Hertel, J. N. (2008) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31817e0f92 · Cited by 445 · see citing works
The Physiological Cost and Enjoyment of Wii Fit in Adolescents, Young Adults, and Older Adults
Graves, L., Ridgers, N. D., Williams, K. M., Stratton, G., Atkinson, G., & Cable, N. T. (2010) · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · doi:10.1123/jpah.7.3.393 · Cited by 428 · see citing works
Balance Training for Persons With Functionally Unstable Ankles
Rozzi, S. L., Lephart, S. M., Sterner, R., & Kuligowski, L. (1999) · Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy · doi:10.2519/jospt.1999.29.8.478 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
A multi-station proprioceptive exercise program in patients with ankle instability
Eils, E., & Rosenbaum, D. (2001) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200112000-00003 · Cited by 370 · see citing works
Redfern, M. S., Yardley, L., & Bronstein, A. M. (2001) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/s0887-6185(00)00043-8 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
The Effect of Communication Media on Cooperation
Brosig‐Koch, J., & Weimann, J. (2003) · German Economic Review · doi:10.1111/1468-0475.00080 · Cited by 334 · see citing works
Emery, C. A. (2005) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.1040805 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Development of Postural Control in Healthy Children: A Functional Approach
Assaiante, C., Mallau, S., Viel, S., Jover, M., & Schmitz, C. (2005) · Neural Plasticity · doi:10.1155/np.2005.109 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Unipedal stance testing as an indicator of fall risk among older outpatients
Hurvitz, E. A., Richardson, J. K., Werner, R. A., Ruhl, A. M., & Dixon, M. R. (2000) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1016/s0003-9993(00)90039-x · Cited by 258 · see citing works
Exergaming for Children and Adolescents: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
Benzing, V., & Schmidt, M. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm7110422 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Plasticity of the postural function to sport and/or motor experience
Paillard, T. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.015 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Goble, D. J., Cone, B. L., & Fling, B. W. (2014) · Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-12 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Riemann, B. L., Myers, J. B., & Lephart, S. M. (2003) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1053/apmr.2003.50004 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Salem, Y., Gropack, S. J., Coffin, D. A., & Godwin, E. M. (2012) · Physiotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.physio.2012.06.003 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Jelsma, D., Geuze, R. H., Mombarg, R., & Smits-Engelsman, B. C. M. (2014) · Human Movement Science · doi:10.1016/j.humov.2013.12.007 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
The impact of an exergame-based intervention on children's fundamental motor skills
Vernadakıs, N., Παπαστεργίου, Μ., Ζetou, E., & Antonıou, P. (2015) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.01.001 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Granacher, U., Gollhofer, A., & Kriemler, S. (2010) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.2010.10599672 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Steps Forward in Understanding Backward Gait
Hoogkamer, W., Meyns, P., & Duysens, J. (2013) · Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews · doi:10.1249/jes.0000000000000000 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
The effects of a daily, 6-week exergaming curriculum on balance in fourth grade children
Sheehan, D. P., & Katz, L. (2013) · Journal of sport and health science/Journal of Sport and Health Science · doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2013.02.002 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Leg Dominance Effects on Postural Control When Performing Challenging Balance Exercises
Promsri, A., Haid, T. H., Werner, I., & Federolf, P. (2020) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci10030128 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Can Active Video Games Improve Physical Activity in Adolescents? A Review of RCT
Williams, W. M., & Ayres, C. G. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17020669 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Assessing Motivational Differences Between Young and Older Adults When Playing an Exergame
Subramanian, S., Dahl, Y., Skjæret Maroni, N., Vereijken, B., & Svanæs, D. (2020) · Games for Health Journal · doi:10.1089/g4h.2019.0082 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Exergaming: Hope for future physical activity? or blight on mankind?
Baranowski, T. (2016) · Journal of sport and health science/Journal of Sport and Health Science · doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2016.11.006 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Exergames Experience in Physical Education: A Review
Vaghetti, C. A. O., Monteiro-Júnior, R. S., Finco, M. D., Reategui, E. B., & Botelho, S. S. D. C. (2018) · Physical Culture and Sport Studies and Research · doi:10.2478/pcssr-2018-0010 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Gebel, A., Lüder, B., & Granacher, U. (2019) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01135 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Dominant side in single-leg stance stability during floor oscillations at various frequencies
Kiyota, T., & Fujiwara, K. (2014) · Journal of PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY · doi:10.1186/1880-6805-33-25 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Dutch children and parents' views on active and non-active video gaming
de Vet, E., Simons, M., & Wesselman, M. (2012) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/das064 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Saquetto, M. B., Pereira, F. F., de Queiroz, R. S., da Silva, C. M., Conceição, C. S., & Neto, M. G. (2018) · Osteoporosis International · doi:10.1007/s00198-017-4360-1 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Static and Dynamic Balance Learning in Primary School Students
Lengkana, A. S., Rahman, A. A., Alif, M. N., Mulya, G., Priana, A., & Hermawan, D. B. (2020) · International journal of human movement and sports sciences · doi:10.13189/saj.2020.080620 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Chiu, H., Ada, L., & Lee, S. (2018) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019624 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
A Soft Pressure Sensor Skin for Hand and Wrist Orthoses
Tan, X., He, L., Cao, J., Chen, W., & Nanayakkara, T. (2020) · IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters · doi:10.1109/lra.2020.2970947 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Self-citationJohnson, R. W., White, B. K., Gucciardi, D. F., Gibson, N., & Williams, S. A. (2022) · JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting · doi:10.2196/34588 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The Effects of Exergames on Physical and Psychological Health in Young Adults
Hastürk, G., & Munusturlar, M. A. (2022) · Games for Health Journal · doi:10.1089/g4h.2022.0093 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Claxton, D. B., Troy, M., & Dupree, S. (2006) · Journal of Physical Education Recreation & Dance · doi:10.1080/07303084.2006.10597842 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Espinosa-Curiel, I., Pozas-Bogarin, E. E., Hernández-Arvizu, M., Navarro-Jiménez, M. E., Delgado-Pérez, E. E., Martínez-Miranda, J., & Pérez-Espinosa, H. (2022) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/33412 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Playing alone: can game design elements satisfy user needs in gamified mHealth services?
Mitchell, R., Schuster, L., & Jin, H. S. (2021) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/daab168 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Melong, C., & Keats, M. R. (2013) · Games for Health Journal · doi:10.1089/g4h.2013.0042 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
A Soft Pressure Sensor Skin to Predict Contact Pressure Limit Under Hand Orthosis
Tan, X., Ahmed‐Kristensen, S., Cao, J., Zhu, Q., Chen, W., & Nanayakkara, T. (2021) · IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering · doi:10.1109/tnsre.2021.3059015 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationDajime, P. F., Smith, H., & Zhang, Y. (2021) · IEEE Transactions on Games · doi:10.1109/tg.2021.3139036 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Effect of Exergame Education on Balance in Children
Demir, A., & Akın, M. (2020) · Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.17220/mojet.2020.03.006 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Davoodeh, S., Sheikh, M., Abadi, D. H. S., & Bagherzadeh, F. A. (2020) · Acta Gymnica · doi:10.5507/ag.2020.008 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Okuda, P. M. M., Swardfager, W., Lúcio, P. S., Ploubidis, G. B., Liu, T. C., Pangelinan, M. M., & Cogo‐Moreira, H. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.12.012 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Influence of 12-week artistic gymnastics training on children's strength and balance performance
Kara, E. (2021) · Kinesiologia Slovenica scientific journal on sport · doi:10.52165/kinsi.27.1.177-188 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 50 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Bădău, D., Bădău, A., Joksimović, M., Oancea, B. M., Mănescu, C. O., Graur, C., CORNEA, G.-G., Ene-Voiculescu, V., Cojanu, F., Ștefănică, V., et al. (2023) · Balneo and PRM Research Journal · doi:10.12680/balneo.2023.570 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Effect of gymnastics on balance ability in children aged three to six years
Yu, Q., Pan, X. S., Liu, Z., & Deng, C. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1549741 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults
Nagata, J. M., Nayak, S., Choi, W., Potes, C., Heuer, A., Memon, Z., Talebloo, J., Li, E. J., Bao, K., Helmer, C. K., et al. (2026) · Current Pediatrics Reports · doi:10.1007/s40124-026-00376-y · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“In a recent randomized controlled trial, an exergame designed to train balance coordination improved both static and dynamic balance in adolescents [79 ].”
Wang, Y., Lv, H., Lu, Z., Jiang, Z., Jiang, G., & 王裕桂 (2026) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.21464 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Chen, Y., Huang, X., Luo, W., Liu, H., Gao, Y., Wang, M., Zhang, Y., Liu, J., Zhong, C., Xiao, A., et al. (2025) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-025-07195-3
Self-citationEquiliBubble: An adaptive serious game for assistance in static balance rehabilitation
Farias, L. E., Schardosim, T. D. C., Heckler, W. F., Berlese, D. B., Barbosa, D. N. F., Tavares, M. C., & Barbosa, J. L. V. (2026) · Entertainment Computing · doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2026.101094
Wei, X., & Dong, Y. (2026) · Games for Health Journal · doi:10.1177/2161783x251414847 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Romero-Chouza, Ó., Villaverde-Caramés, E. J., Hernaiz-Sánchez, A., & Prado‐Nóvoa, O. (2026) · doi:10.2196/preprints.113867
- Authors
- Zhang, C., Han, T., Tan, X., Yu, C., Li, S., Zheng, H., Zhu, D., Zhang, Y., & Shen, T.
- Affiliations
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Han, Ting
- Tan, Xinyang
- ORCID
- Venue
- Games for Health Journal
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2023-06-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 249-258
- ISSN
- 2161-783X (ISSN-L)
- 2161-7856
- OpenAlex
- W4322719544
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Games for Health Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Physical Education and Training Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Keywords
- exergames, balance training, adolescents, static balance, dynamic balance, Y-balance test, Kinect sensor, eye-closed balance, postural control, user engagement
- MeSH terms
- Exergaming, Adolescent, Child, Postural Balance, Exercise Therapy, Humans, Posture, Physical Therapy Modalities
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
