Development, Validation, and Usability of a Virtual Game for Consciousness and Relaxation of the Pelvic Floor Muscles

Background: Applicability of the virtual games has been increasingly added to rehabilitation treatments, including women's health interventions.

Objective: To develop a virtual interface designed to increase consciousness and relax the pelvic floor muscles, validate its content and appearance, and check the level of usability and satisfaction.

Methods: Physiotherapy specialists with experience in pelvic floor rehabilitation and database research were consulted to define the content. Thus, 13 physiotherapists specialized in the area participated in the content and appearance validation of the virtual game with a minimum agreement level of 80%. An evaluation of the usability level was conducted through MATCH (Checklist for Evaluation of the Usability of Applications for Touchscreen Phones) and the satisfaction level through a visual analog scale.

Results: The game is presented in two-dimensional (2D) configuration and is based on parachuting. The main activity required is muscle relaxation to open the parachute and descend to the target. The goal is to reach the target by traveling as long as possible with the parachute open. A physical exercise protocol from the American College of Sports Medicine was used to define the contraction/relaxation time. A total of 4 of the 15 items which represented the content and appearance for validation needed a second round to reach the desired level of agreement. The game showed a high level of usability M: 63.04 (±5.28) and the level of satisfaction of the virtual game showed an average of 9.7 (±0.55).

Conclusion: The virtual game developed for the pelvic floor muscle relaxation training showed content validity and adequate appearance and a high level of usability and satisfaction.