Therapy via Nintendo
Author
Thomas Wiest
CEO, Aspirience Home Care
I know it’s not news to anyone that this holiday season is going to be another great one for Nintendo’s Wii. Last holiday Nintendo couldn’t make enough of them. This year people were camping out in front of big box retailers waiting for the moment to be the first in line to get a Wii on Black Friday morning. Mind you, very early in the morning too.
If you are not sure what all the fuss is about, let me give you an idea about what the Wii is. I must say, what a cool gaming console it is! I mean not just from the standpoint of the games themselves but, in order to play any game correctly, you have to get physically involved in the game by twisting and turning the hand held remotes.
I was at Wal-Mart with a relative recently and we got so caught up in playing a Mario Brothers game that I was walking away from the Wii in a sweat. I couldn’t believe it.
The point of this is that I recently read of a hospital in Canada that is using the Wii’s for rehabilitation and therapy purposes. What a great idea? Matching the medical science of today with the gaming technology of tomorrow.
This hospital has been using the Wii for a few months to help people recovering from strokes and spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries. Patients also use the internet connected console to find information on news or weather channels to improve brain function as well.
Recently, it is starting to catch on in the United States.
In Ohio, I have read of some patients that used to spend hours performing video game feats regularly until they had an injury of some kind. Using the Nintendo Wii, and the rest of their body, it helps them to regain strength after a tragic accident.
One 51-year-old, who had a stroke about a month ago, has been working hard to rebuild the muscles in his immobilized right side at Ohio State University’s Medical Center.
Patients would usually undergo a total of two to three hours of daily therapy and work with the video game system for about 30 minutes per day, two to three times per week.
The idea of sitting there fiddling around with a couple of buttons on a video game controller is not that motivating or interesting if you struggle with that movement in the first place. But, if you think about it, it’s pretty cool that you use your body to control the movement on the screen.
I can’t think of any other home video game consoles that come close to matching the Wii’s appeal for its total movement, cognitive testing and its therapeutic ability. Way to go Nintendo!
It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care needs.