A pilot randomised clinical trial comparing the effect of video game dance training with ladder drills on agility of elite volleyball players

Abstract

This randomised pilot study compared the effects of a six-week, dance video game training programme with traditional agility ladder drills. Twenty-seven elite volleyball players participated and the Illinois Agility Test was used as the primary outcome measure. Significant improvement was seen in agility scores of the video game dance group with both an intention-to-treat analysis (ITTA), (median [Mdn] = –0.95, p = 0.028), and per-protocol analysis (Mdn = –1.58, p = 0.012). The ladder drills group showed no significant change in agility with the ITTA (Mdn = –0.71, p = 0.062), but improvement was seen with the per-protocol analysis (Mdn = –0.85, p = 0.028). Between group comparisons showed no significant difference in agility scores for the ITTA (p = 0.650). However, with the per-protocol analysis, the video game dance training group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in agility scores (Mdn = –1.58 sec; p = 0.029.) compared with the ladder drills group (Mdn = –0.85 sec). Changes observed for both analyses exceeded the minimal detectable change for the Illinois Agility Test, indicating that dance video game training may be a useful tool for clinicians wanting to enhance agility. Further research is warranted in this area.