Doctors Use Wii Games for Rehab Therapy

On the contrary, using the Wii game－ motion-sensitive controller, the movements are so similar to traditional therapy exercises, but patients become so interested in the game. As Osborn said, “In the Wii system, because it's kind of a game format, it does create this kind of inner competitiveness. You may be boxing or playing tennis against some figure. On the screen, it's amazing how many of our patients want to beat their opponent...When people can refocus their attention from the tediousness of the physical task, oftentimes they do much better…" The most popular Wii games as physical therapy as sports－baseball, bowling, boxing, golf and tennis are fun to operate. Patients wave a wireless controller which directs the actions of animated athletes on the screen and at the same time patients achieve movements with fun.


The Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital at the west of Chicago recently bought a Wii system for its spinal cord injury unit. Pfc. Matthew Turpen who is 22 years old; he paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident stationing in Germany last year－playing Wii golf and bowling from his wheelchair at Hines. “A lot of people don't have full finger function so it definitely helps being able to work on using your fingers more and figuring out different ways to use your hands and arms”, Turpen said. It is the same situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the therapy is suitable to patients injured during combat in Iraq, who tends to be in the 19 to 25 age range－a group that's "very into" playing video games. WakeMed Health has been using Wii games at its Raleigh, N.C.Hospital for patients from 9 years old to people in their 80s. "They're getting improved endurance, strength, and coordination. I think “it's very entertaining for them”, the therapist Elizabeth Penny said. “It really helps the body to loosen up so it can do what it's supposed to do”, said Billy Perry who is 64 years old, a retired police officer, received Wii therapy at WakeMed after a stroke on Christmas Eve.
Although there's plenty of evidence that Wii games help in rehab, researcher Lars Oddsson, a director of the Sister Kenny Research Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, wants to put the games to a real test. The center bought a Wii system last summer working with the University of Minnesota to design a study measuring patients' function before and after this “Wii hab as someone called it…You can certainly make a case that some form of endurance related to strength and flexibility, balance and cardio would be challenged when you play the Wii, but hard scientific proof is needed to prove it”, Oddsson said.
Wii actually can provoke the motivation to the patient, but overuse becomes a big problem. As Dr. Julio Bonis of Madrid spent hours playing Wii tennis and got tendonitis as a real tennis player can get. People should pay attention to overuse Wii.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020900956.html 03.11.2009
After reading the article, I think the motivation of exercising is very important. Doing fun exercising like Wii makes me feel no pain but lots of challenges and pushes me to do the exercise again and again.