Wii-Habilitation
Hospitals use Nintendo system to supplement physical therapy
Stephany Pobrislo
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News
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So what's it doing in a hospital?
Alissa Thibeault, a Physical Therapist at Craig, explained that the Wii can do a lot of things. "We work on range of motion, endurance, strength, and coordination," she said. "All of those things can be benefited by working, or playing, on the Wii."
Because the Wii requires more physical exertion than traditional video games, doctors say it requires similar body movements that many physical therapy exercises do. But Casey Harnack, a spinal cord patient at Craig, said the Wii has a major one-up on some other exercises: it's fun. "They trick you into thinking you're not working out, but you are," he said.
Tiffany Dixon, a certified occupational therapy assistant, said the Wii has been a catalyst for improvement in some patients that weren't making progress in their regular therapy regimes. "We don't always get them to respond in other atmospheres, but the Wii has gotten them to respond differently. Also, we don't always see some deficits, but the Wii exacerbates them or we see something we missed before," she said. Dixon also explained that some patients with mobility on only one side often move their other side automatically while playing the Wii.
Craig isn't the only hospital employing the Wii; medical centers across the country are beginning to recognize the correlation between playing and progress.
Ryan Langstrom, a Craig patient who recently underwent brain surgery, didn't miss an opportunity to express his feelings about the Wii, or a chance to make a special request. "It's a great game, and I hope my parents buy me one," he said.
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