Increased life expectancy leads to an increase in the number of older adults and in the prevalence of aging-associated diseases and disabilities. Active aging strategies—particularly those based on physical exercise therapy— have great positive impact on older people’s health. Virtual reality (VR) represents an innovative approach to involve and motivate patients during therapy sessions. Exergaming programs based on VR technologies and commercially available gaming platforms are amenable to therapeutic use in older adults, according to various systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) in the field of rehabilitation or physical skills training in seniors is understudied.In the present systematic review, we analyze the therapeutic use and application of IVR in older adults through physical activity. We describe the populations studied, the conditions of IVR application (device, session, physical, and virtual environments), its potential benefits, and its limitations. We found that most studies are feasibility pilot experiences, where the use and acceptability of the immersive platform were evaluated. Cumulative data suggest that the use of IVR with therapeutic intent in senior populations is in early stages of clinical development and shows promise as a complementary tool in the fields of health, rehabilitation, and active aging.

预期寿命的延长导致老年人数量的增加，以及与衰老相关的疾病和残疾的流行。主动的衰老策略（尤其是基于体育锻炼的策略）对老年人的健康有很大的积极影响。虚拟现实（VR）代表了一种创新方法，可以在治疗过程中吸引并激励患者。锻炼根据各种系统的评论和荟萃分析，基于VR技术和市售游戏平台的程序适合老年人的治疗用途。研究了沉浸式虚拟现实（IVR）在老年人康复或身体技能训练领域的应用。在本系统综述中，我们通过体育锻炼来分析IVR在老年人中的治疗用途和应用。我们描述了研究的人群，IVR应用程序的条件（设备，会话，物理和虚拟环境），其潜在的好处及其局限性。我们发现，大多数研究都是可行性试点经验，其中对沉浸式平台的使用和可接受性进行了评估。