Research Shows Rehabilitation Benefits of Using Nintendo Wii
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008A UMDNJ case study focused on use of the Nintendo Wii for rehabilitation of a teen with cerebral palsy is believed to be the first published research showing the physical therapy benefits resulting from use of the wildly popular gaming system.
“Use of a Low-Cost, Commercially Available Gaming Console (Wii) for Rehabilitation of an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy,” an article reporting the case study results, will be published in the October print issue of the American Physical Therapy Association’s journal Physical Therapy. It is available now online for journal subscribers.
In this case study, the patient was a 13-year-old male with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. In a school-based setting, he participated in 11 training sessions, over a four-week period, using the Wii while continuing to receive physical and occupational therapy. The sessions were each between 60 and 90 minutes long and used the Wii sports games software, which offers boxing, tennis, bowling, and golf. He trained in both standing and sitting positions.
