Wii Add-on May Enhance Use of Wii in Therapy

(Image from: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2009290380_e3_nintendo_previews_next_wii.html)

Nintendo announced last year a plan to market an add-on called a Wii Vitality Sensor.
Many OTs and PTs will think this add-on looks like a tool often used in the clinic. The Wii vitality Sensor looks and works like the familiar pulse-ox device often used to measure pulse and oxygen concentration in a client's blood. Now Nintendo plans to use that data to provide feedback to players and to control actions of a player's avatar.
Like the balance board, this new add-on will expand the therapeutic value of Wii activities while making recording improvements much easier during therapy.

Wii therapy in Columbus: From rehabilitation to special education

Dr. Tim Barrett writes for Examiner.com in Columbus, Ohio. Recently he posted an article explaining the many benefits of using Wii in therapy for a variety of problems. In this article, Dr. Barrett mentions Lon Thornburg. Lon's blog offers so much information to help therapists and families as they care for children with special needs. Robbie Winget, an occupational therapist also shares his enthusiasm about using Wii in therapy with Dr. Barrett.
Soon, this blog will give readers a chance to share their opinions and experiences using Nintendo Wii with those they care for. Keep following and when the survey posts take a little time to complete it.

New Study Shows Mood Alters reaction to Pain

Results of a recently published study indicate that negative and positive emotions are closely related to pain perception. Lead author, Mathieu Roy, a post=doc student at Columbia, reports that negative emotions are shown to amplify our perception of pain. The subjects reacted more strongly to painful stimuli while looking at unpleasant images than they did when they gazed upon pleasant images.
Wii Bowling seems to have a similar affect on residents of nursing facilities. My personal experiences using Nintendo Wii in therapy suggest that the results of this study ring true. Clients who complain of pain as they stand at a table top doing unilateral or bilateral upper extremity tasks seem relatively pain free as they stand gazing at pleasant Wii scenes, bowling frame after frame. Standing for longer periods while not perceiving pain helps clients boost their confidence while building strength, balance, and endurance for daily activities, functional transfers and functional mobility .