Boccia’s appeal and rising popularity comes from its showcase as a Paralympic sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed an extended reality version of the game as a rehabilitation program, showing how the game that requires accuracy and strategy can aid motor and cognitive skills.

Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science Associate Professor Masataka Kataoka’s research group developed Boccia XR so that the program can be introduced even in environments with limited space. The researchers investigated changes in mood among participants over 65 before and after experiencing Boccia XR, traditional boccia, and treadmill walking, as well as lower limb muscle activity during exercise.

Participants reported better moods, vitality, and energy after experiencing both Boccia XR and traditional boccia. There was no significant difference in lower limb muscle activity during any of the programs, though muscle activity of the rectus femoris, which helps extend the knee, increased during both types of boccia compared to the treadmill.

Boccia XR could be effective as a rehabilitation exercise for older adults in terms of both physical and emotional effects, and since it does not require a large court, it is practical for indoor environments such as hospitals and nursing care facilities. Since this research was designed to verify immediate effects, we plan to conduct further studies to investigate long-term results in a larger population of older adults and to continue updating Boccia XR.”

Masataka Kataoka, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science, Osaka Metropolitan University

The findings were published in PLOS One.