Neuromarketing-Based Gamification for User Experience and Cognitive Load Management in Physical Therapy

Gamification techniques are widely used in physiotherapy and rehabilitation processes to maintain patient motivation and ensure the continuity of treatment. Current studies in this field (Huber et al., 2021; Krepkovich et al., 2022; Arbuckle et al., 2025) show that game-based applications not only increase user satisfaction but also improve patient participation and the overall usability of applications. However, the balancing of cognitive load in gamification strategies and the neurophysiological foundations of this process are not yet clear. Inappropriate levels of cognitive engagement can negatively affect the learning process and application success (Müller et al., 2025; Ayoob et al., 2020). This study presents the NEURO-GAMER PT approach, which approaches gamification applications within the physiotherapy discipline from a neuromarketing perspective and integrates multisensory feedback with neurophysiological data, to the academic literature. This research is based on a randomized controlled experimental design to deeply examine changes in user experience and cognitive load in gamified rehabilitation processes.