Wii-hab Therapy for patients in England
Monday, February 25, 2008
JC Jones MA RN
Queen Victoria Hospital in England is part of the National Health Service and is a regional care center for 4.5 million people. Specializing in burns and plastic and reconstructive surgery, physical therapy is an important part of the rehabilitation process. Serco Group plc donated two Nintendo Wii games consoles to the therapy department and patients have been making great strides ever since.
When playing on a Wii console, the player acts out the normal physical movements in games like golf, tennis or boxing. They have so much fun, they forget about their discomfort and are motivated to move more, speeding recovery. It is being used for patients recovering from spinal cord injuries and other traumatic injuries at Walter Reed Army Hospital as part of occupational therapy.
Wii therapy/exercise is being used in schools to help teenagers who were skipping Physical Education classes (PE). And you may want to ask your surgeon to play a few rounds of Marble Mania before she dons her gloves for your next operation. Fine motor movements and manual dexterity are the name of the game - both in Wii and surgery. The applications are endless - diabetics, obesity, stroke patients...
Wii!
Thank you John Kannenberg for use of awesome picture of Parents playing Wii Boxing...
Labels: boxing, PE, therapy, wii
