A Milestone: Our Latest Paper on Muscle Stimulation and Virtual Reality has been published!
September 12, 2024
When people first experience our technology, the questions usually follow: Does muscle stimulation work? Is it beneficial for physical training? Is it better than just using virtual reality alone? Is it painful? Will people enjoy it?
We can now confidently answer these questions! After months of testing, data analysis, and extensive discussions with reviewers, our scientific paper has been published in the International Journal on Virtual Reality, addressing these questions! You can access the complete research paper by following this link.
Main Conclusions:
Yes, muscle stimulation combined with VR enhances muscle training!
Yes, your muscles are genuinely engaged and working!
Yes, people prefer it over simple VR fitness!
For the full story, keep reading:
Electrical Muscle Stimulation Combined with Virtual Reality Enhances Efficiency and Engagement in Physical Training
Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a transformative technology in physical training, offering new and exciting ways to engage individuals in physical activity. While VR and gamification boost motivation and enjoyment, combining these elements with Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) adds a significant physiological dimension to the training experience. Our patented wearable -eir bands- merge EMS, VR, and gamification, creating a comprehensive fitness platform that caters to cardiovascular and strength training.
eir Bands and Virtual Fitness
At Valkyrie Industries, we create an immersive workout experience with muscle haptics and our flagship virtual fitness game -eir training-. Enhancing users’ physical training experiences, eir bands allow users to feel real-time sensations of weight, load, and resistance of virtual objects and movements, such as punching virtual bubbles, pulling virtual elastic bands, and swinging virtual dumbbells—adjusting the intensity based on the user’s movements.
To further investigate the benefits of combining EMS with virtual fitness, we conducted a study to evaluate the physiological and psychological effects of using the eir bands in physical training.
Research Methodology
We recruited 26 healthy participants aged 20 to 50 for two 15-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions using Meta Quest Headset:
One session with EMS - eir bands (EMS condition).
One session without EMS (Control condition), with a one-week break between sessions.
For physiological measures, we assess heart rate, pressure sensitivity of the biceps and triceps, and delayed onset muscular soreness (DOMS) the day after the class. For psychological measures, we assess participants’ experience, mood, and the rate of perceived exertion.
Key Findings
EMS Preference
88.5% of participants favoured the EMS condition, noting increased immersion, intensity, and challenge.
Engagement
Participants reported high engagement in both conditions, with no significant differences between the EMS and control conditions. However, several participants highlighted that EMS made the experience more novel and engaging.
Mood Improvement
The study observed significant mood improvement post-exercise across both conditions, suggesting that Valkyrie EIR positively affects participants' mood, regardless of EMS use. Figure 1 shows participants’ moods before and after, about control and EMS conditions.
Figure 1
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
Participants reported higher perceived exertion in the EMS condition, compared to the control, indicating that EMS increased the intensity of the workout. Figure 2 shows the differences in RPE between the EMS and control conditions.
Figure 2
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
The EMS condition led to much higher DOMS scores compared to the control, reflecting increased muscle stress and potential hypertrophy (growth), aligning with findings in similar studies. Figure 3 shows the differences in self-assessed pain ratings, as assessed by movement, palpation and active contraction, for the biceps and triceps between the control and EMS conditions.
Higher levels of DOMS indicate increased mechanical stress to muscle fibres, ultimately contributing to muscle hypertrophy [1].
1. Teschler, M., & Mooren, F. C. (2019). (Whole-Body) Electromyostimulation, Muscle Damage, and Immune System: A Mini Review. Frontiers in Physiology, 10, 1461.
Figure 3
Heart Rate (HR)
No significant differences were found in maximum or average heart rate between the EMS and control conditions, suggesting that while EMS enhances muscle engagement, it does not necessarily increase cardiovascular strain.
Conclusion
Our research results indicate that EMS enhances exercise intensity, as evidenced by elevated DOMS and perceived exertion, supporting the hypothesis that EMS contributes to more challenging and potentially more effective physical training. The findings suggest that the EMS-enhanced virtual experiences hold promise for applications in motor neurorehabilitation, particularly in stroke recovery, with further studies warranted to explore long-term strength gains.
You can read the full research paper here.
Glossary
EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation): A technique that uses electrical impulses to stimulate muscle contractions, often used to enhance strength training and rehabilitation.
Control: The baseline condition in experiments, used for comparison; in this study, the VR session without EMS.
eir bands: Patented EMS wearable developed by Valkyrie Industries, designed to integrate with VR for enhanced engagement.
eir Training: Valkyrie Industries’ flagship virtual fitness game that utilises eir bands to simulate realistic exercise environments.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): A self-assessment scale used to measure the intensity of exercise, indicating how hard participants feel they are working.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness): Muscle pain and stiffness occurring after intense exercise, indicative of muscle stress and adaptation.
HR (Heart Rate): The number of heartbeats per minute, used to monitor exercise intensity.