Physiological and Biomechanical Differences Between a Traditional Treadmill and a 360 Degree Virtual Reality Treadmill: 2518 Board #182 May 31 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Virtual reality opportunities are booming as technology has advanced to provide a truly immersive experience. Soon virtual reality exercise experiences may be readily available to the public; thus, the exercise equipment that companies produce need to be assessed for use and safety. PURPOSE: Fifteen college students (8 women, 8 men; 20 ± 1 years old) walked for 5 minutes on a traditional treadmill (TT) and a 360-degree virtual reality treadmill (VR) with no headset to determine the physiological [heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER)] and biomechanical [step rate (SR), step length (SL), knee angle (KA), tilt] differences at self-selected paces as well as to a pace of 97 steps per minute set by a metronome (TTM vs VRM). RESULTS: VO2 (TT:11.6 ± 1.2 vs VR:16.8 ± 3.5 ml/kg/min, p < 0.005), RER (TT:0.81 ± 0.5 vs VR:0.89 ± 0.5, p < 0.005), HR (TT:91.3 ± 16.3 vs VR:113.1 ± 22.3 bpm, p < 0.005) and RPE (TT:2.1 ± 0.8 vs VR:4.7 ± 1.5, p < 0.005) were all significantly lower while walking on a traditional treadmill (TT) compared with a VR360 treadmill (VR) at a self-selected pace. This same pattern was observed when asked to walk at a specific cadence (97 steps/min) except RER was not different between the traditional treadmill and the VR360 treadmill (TTM: 0.89 ± 0.05 vs VRM: 0.94 ± 0.06, p=0.146). SR was significantly higher on the traditional treadmill (TT:107.1 ± 6.0 vs VR:76.9 ± 14.8 steps/min, p < 0.005), as well as SL (TT:0.42 ± 0.07 vs VR:0.22 ± 0.14 m, p < 0.005). KA was significantly lower on the VR360 treadmill, forcing a more knock-kneed walking position (TT:174.2 ± 3.9 vs VR:139.9 degrees, p < 0.005) The 360 treadmill induced a bent over position, causing a significantly greater tilt (TT:175.8 ± 3.0 vs VR:156.5, p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Walking on a virtual reality treadmill is more strenuous from a physiological and biomechanical perspective than a traditional treadmill, at a self-selected and forced pace. Shorter exercise bouts using virtual reality treadmills may be a more practical use of this exercise modality.