Muscle Activation during Exergame Playing

Abstract

Exergames may provide low-cost solutions for playing, training and rehabilitation. Exergame user research, studies the interaction between an exergame and users, in order to provide feedback for game developers and safe and meaningful game play. Detailed evaluations and a coding system based on muscle activation levels are necessary to characterize. This is important when it comes to use exergames in purposes other than fun. The purpose of this chapter was to characterize the muscle activation during a swimming exergame and to compare the level of activation during different conditions. Healthy subjects played bouts of exergame using Xbox360 and Kinect. Muscle activation was monitored for desired muscles on dominant upper limb using wireless electromyography system. An investigation of muscular coordination was also conducted to provide activation sequences of studied muscles. Preliminary results showed that upper trapezius was the most active muscle in all techniques. Results can provide insights for practitioners to have a baseline on application of exergames in their routines.