Giacomo Belmonte
Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Via Giovanni Pascoli 6, Palermo, 90144, Italy.
e-Mail: giacomo.belmonte@unipa.it
Education
Scienze e Tecniche delle Attività Motorie Preventive ed Adattate e delle Attività Sportive (LM-67)
Current Positions
PhD Student in Health Promotion and Cognitive Sciences
PhD project title and a short abstract
PhD project Title
Applicability of the immersive virtual Reality on indoor cycling in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
PhD project abstract
The development of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) can represent a disabling element in children and adolescents, causing frequent joint inflammation, recurrent joint swelling, limitation of movement, muscular atrophy, and pain during the articular range of motion. The scientific literature has shown that most JIA subjects possess a low level of cardiorespiratory fitness. A protocol of indoor cycling could be a positive intervention, given its results on other joints' inflammatory conditions. The influence of technology has produced new scenarios to promote indoor cycling. Indeed, the applicability of virtual reality protocols applied to indoor cycling are already present in the scientific literature.
Therefore, this project aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual reality-based indoor cycling protocol on function, metabolic, pro-inflammatory biomarkers, and pain in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Given its absence in the marketplace, at the end of the project, it is also planned to design a frame for an indoor bike for children and adolescents that includes an integrated VR system.
Supervisor: Prof. Antonino Bianco
Main research areas of interest
Biomechanics, Performance, Health, Injury Prevention, Cycling
Researcher ID
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2326-8164
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=58772197500
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giacomo_Belmonte