Balance performance of healthy young individuals in real versus matched virtual environments: a systematic scoping review

Due to technological advancements and the development of consumer-oriented head mounted displays (HMDs), virtual reality (VR) is used in studies on balance performance and balance trainability more and more frequently. Yet, it may be assumed that balance performance is affected by the physical characteristics of the HMD (e.g., weight) as well as by the virtual visual environment. Moreover, it has been shown that balance is age-dependent with children and adolescents showing worse performances compared to young adults, which may also affect their balance performance in virtual environments.