Using Nintendo Wii in Therapy: Benefits Seen Over Time

WiiHab - Rehabilitative Therapy Using the Wii by the "Wii OT” has been up and running for over a year now. Thank you for all of your visits and emails. So many people have responded to my blog. Not only have other occupational and physical therapists and students sent emails and responses but also family members whose loved ones are recovering from TBI, stroke or joint replacement and are benefiting from using Nintendo Wii have contacted me from time to time. And these responses have come from many states like Pennsylvania and Georgia and from countries far and near to the USA like England, Sweden and Canada. The use of Nintendo Wii as a therapeutic tool continues to spread, while therapists, researchers, and patients alike continue to recognize the advantages of including this tool in plans of care.

Just the other day, another article appeared in print and online about the benefits of using Nintendo Wii to help people recover from injury, illness and surgery. This article highlights 2 important points. First, mention is made that Wii offers an opportunity for socialization, helping reduce feelings of isolation. Second, this overview states that using the Wii is fun. Bringing fun into therapy helps patients who are dealing with a changing health status to reduce feelings of anxiety. Learning to use adaptive devices or learning to do familiar things in new ways is easier when feelings of isolation and anxiety are reduced. Reducing feelings of isolation and anxiety is such an important part of therapy.

So again, thank you for your support. Post your experiences in the comments section for all to see.

SENIOR HEALTH & FITNESS DAY 2009

May 27, 2009 was National Senior Health and Fitness Day. As you may know, seniors who stay active and physically fit help themselves avoid some of the declines associated with aging; in particular, the increased risk for falls.

According to the website, www.fitnessday.com/ the common goal for this day is to help keep older Americans healthy and fit. Many health related facilities held special events to help raise fitness awareness in those who they serve. The life care community where I work scheduled many different events to encourage all of the residents at all fitness levels, to either stay or become active.

Occupational Therapy's interactive Wii Fit presentation proved to be a very popular. Thirty-five participants, many of which had never seen a Wii, a Wii Fit balance board, or a Mii before, enjoyed learning all about using the Nintendo Wii and playing the fun games. Wii Fit offers an exciting alternative to the more traditional machine-based exercises, encouraging participants to improve their balance, endurance, and strength while having fun and experiencing new technology that they know their grandchildren also enjoy.

Students Enjoy "Wii-Hab - Using the Nintendo Wii in a Therapeutic Setting"

Allegany College of Maryland

hosted the most recent Wii-Hab workshops. Students learned how the games in Wii Sports and Wii Fit can be used as therapeutic activities (97530) and/or therapeutic exercises (97110) and/or Neuro-muscular re-education (97112) to achieve specific patient goals. The participants also had fun as they pacticed using Wii Sports and Wii Fit in innovative ways. Students also enjoyed applying what they learned by designing treatment plans for case study patients described as having poor endurance, weakness and lack of coordination.

Additional Wii-Hab workshops at Allegany College of Maryland are planned for October 2 or 3, 2009. Penn State Abington will host Wii-Hab: Using Nintendo Wii in a Therapeutic Setting on October 21, 2009. On Saturday, November 21, 2009, Wii-Hab: Using Nintendo Wii in a Therapeutic Setting, will take place in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area at Anne Arundel Community College's Arundel Mills campus.

"Technical Difficulties" - What if the Wii isn't Working?

If the technology that supports the Wii Gaming System is not working, is the OT out of luck? No, but she better be able to quickly figure out another therapeutic activity to substitute in its place.

Last week, a technical difficulty at a facility where I was working brought down the entire cable/TV system, and even after trying to follow the cable company's detailed directions for use, no picture appeared on the screen. Just as we were getting ready for a Wiihab session, we realized we were out of luck.

The patient was in occupational therapy to improve upper body strength along with overall endurance and activity tolerance following a recent hospitalization for an infection. Prior to the recent hospitalization, this particular patient ambulated short distances with a rolling walker while wearing bilateral static ankle supports. Functional transfers from bed to wheelchair and from wheelchair to power rover were independent.

Following hospitalization, this patient required contact guard for all transfers. Dressing and bathing, which were performed with modified independence before hospitalization, required minimal assist to contact guard following the hospitalization. The plan of care was designed to restore the patient to the prior level of independence.

Therapeutic exercises for upper body strengthening, therapeutic activities to increase endurance, balance and standing tolerance, and retraining in energy conservation techniques for self care filled the treatment time. Following a unit of traditional graded upper body exercises, the patient usually participated in several games of Wii Tennis. Prior to the initial injury, tennis was an enjoyable activity for this individual and introducing Wii Tennis into the treatment plan brought new enthusiasm for therapy. Keenness for therapy was assessed by the patient’s insistence on being seen promptly. This eagerness for treatment replaced the past behavior of cancelling appointments or disregarding appointment time.

When the Wii didn’t work, both the therapist and the patient were understandably disappointed. As a substitute for swinging arms through complete range of motion while serving and returning the virtual tennis ball, the patient had to transfer black and orange cones from tabletop to upper shelf and back again. Instead of guarding the patient myself to protect against possible falls as the swing of the remote sent the ball across the net, another person in the clinic had to become involved in the treatment session to either stand along side the patient or to toss the beach ball toward the patient. Though the physical aspects of the activities used as an alternative to the Wii game may have been equivalent, the cognitive and psycho-social aspects seemed far lacking. Even if I could mope or gloat in response to the work, my patient seemed to miss the reaction of the personal avatar painstakingly created during the first Wii session. And though the movements were all completed, I sensed little, if any, push or determination with stacking the cones or batting the beach ball.

“I hope they fix that Wii before my next session”, was all that was said when therapy ended.

I was in complete agreement!