Scientific references

Pilot study · Master’s thesis · 2020 · 4 participants

Beat Saber: an early research direction

Physically Active Virtual Reality and Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study — Kaitlyn Danielle Ruhf, Wake Forest University.

What was studied: four people aged 62 to 78 living with Parkinson’s took part in four supervised Beat Saber sessions on Oculus Quest over approximately one week. Settings were adapted: easy difficulty, no fail, no bombs or obstacles, with regular breaks.

Findings: between the first and last sessions, game scores, measured arm movements and enjoyment increased. No adverse effects were reported during or after play in this small sample.

Limitations: this thesis mainly explores feasibility and acceptability. It involves only four volunteers, with no control group or long-term follow-up. Progress in the game does not demonstrate lasting improvements in symptoms or daily life, or a slowing of disease progression.

Cochrane systematic review · 2016 · 8 studies, 263 participants

Virtual reality in rehabilitation

Virtual reality for rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease — Dockx and colleagues.

Findings: the review suggests a possible advantage in step and stride length compared with physiotherapy. Effects on walking, balance and quality of life may be similar to those of other active interventions.

Limitations: the evidence was rated low or very low quality. The studies were small and used varied equipment, including Wii and Kinect. This 2016 review is not an evaluation of Beat Saber.

Systematic review and meta-analysis · 2021 · 17 studies, 598 participants

Movement accompanied by music

Effects of music-based movement therapy on motor function, balance, gait, mental health, and quality of life for patients with Parkinson’s disease — Zhou and colleagues.

Findings: improvements were reported in motor function, balance, freezing of gait, walking speed and mental health.

Limitations: no statistically significant improvement was found in walking cadence, stride length or quality of life. These findings concern music-based movement interventions; they do not establish the same effects for Beat Saber.

Feasibility study · 2021 · 10 participants

Dance as a rehabilitation activity

Dance movement therapy in rehabilitation of Parkinson’s disease – A feasibility study — Lihala and colleagues.

Findings: after two months of dance sessions, the researchers observed improvements in measures of cognition and quality of life.

Limitations: the study involved only ten participants and no control group. Changes in motor measures did not reach statistical significance. It does not establish the general effectiveness of dance or Beat Saber.