Comparison between the effects of exergame intervention and traditional physical training on improving balance and fall prevention in healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objective Physical training (PT, e.g., Tai Chi and strength training) has been demonstrated to improve balance control and prevent falls. Recently, exergame intervention (EI) has emerged to prevent falls by enhancing both physical and cognitive functions in older adults. Therefore, we aim to quantitatively assess and compare the effects of PT and EI on the performance of balance control and fall prevention in healthy older adults via meta-analysis. Methods A search strategy based on the PICOS principle was used to find the publication in the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE. The quality and risk of bias in the studies were independently assessed by two researchers. Results Twenty studies consisting of 845 participants were included. Results suggested that as compared to PT, EI induced greater improvement in postural control (sway path length, SMD = − 0.66, 95% CI − 0.91 to − 0.41, P