The Effect of Telerehabilitation-Based Structured Exercise Program on Posture, Pain, Fine Motor Skill, Hand Reaction, and Handgrip Strength in Adults with Video Game-Addiction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Aim: Playing video-games is characterized by a sedentary lifestyle and may cause many musculoskeletal problems. This study aimed to investigate the effect of telerehabilitation-based structured exercise program in adults with video-game addiction. Method: Forty-four adults with video-game addiction were included in the study. The participants were randomly divided into experimental group (EG, n=22) and control group (CG, n=22). A telerehabilitation-based structured exercise program was given to EG and a brochure-based exercise program was given to CG. Both groups performed the exercises three days a week for 8-weeks. Posture, pain, fine motor skill, hand reaction, and handgrip strength were assessed before and after program. Results: Both the EG and CG achieved significant improvements in enhancing posture and hand reaction and reducing pain (p<0.05). The improvements in hand reaction and pain were higher in the EG (p<0.05). The handgrip strength significantly increased only in the EG (p=0.014). Both the EG and CG failed to improve fine motor skill (p>0.05). Conclusion: The present findings showed that a structured exercise program was effective in improving posture, pain, and hand reaction, but the telerehabilitation-based method was superior to the brochure-based method in improving pain and hand reaction. Furthermore, only the telerehabilitation-based exercise program was found to be successful in improving handgrip strength.