The Effectiveness of the Internet-based Exercises on Pain, Physical Activity and Quality of Life: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: The Internet is being increasingly used to promote physical activity. However, there is limited knowledge about the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions in changing physical activity behavior.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and methodological quality of interventions designed to promote physical activity through the Internet, as assessed by randomized controlled trials. The physical activity in this research will be divided into three groups: Tai chi chuan, Yoga, and Mindfulness exercises.

Methods: A literature search will be conducted up to July 2023 using the databases Human Kinetics Journals, SPORTDiscus, Consumer Health Database, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC and Embase. The study will include only randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions with the promotion of physical activity among adults as one of their primary goals. The extracted data will include the source and year of publication, country of origin, targeted health behaviors, participants’ characteristics, intervention characteristics, and effectiveness data. The methodological quality of the studies will be assessed.

Results: A simple and primitive literature review with 11 eligible studies of which six met at least seven out of 10 general methodological criteria. We are looking forward to working on a literature review with larger scale later.

The followings are our observations.
1. The majority of interventions used interactive self-monitoring and feedback tools tailored to participants’ characteristics.
2. More than half of studies used one or more theoretical models to compose the
contents of the interventions.
3. More than a half of studies used multiple subjective measures of physical activity.
4. Four studies compared the Internet-based physical activity intervention with a control group. Of these studies, two reported a significantly greater improvement in physical activity levels.
5. Over half of the studies examined two kinds of online physical activity programs, differing in supervisor-participant contact intensity or treatment procedures. One study found that the participants favored more supervisor interaction, hinting at a preference for face-to-face contact.

Conclusions: Online physical activity programs appear more effective than control groups. However, the benefits of specific elements like increased supervisor contact, tailored information, or theory explanation are yet to be confirmed. The studies varied in methodological quality and physical activity outcome measures, highlighting the need for standardization.