Putting a Little "Wii" into Rehab

March 31, 2009

'Wiihab' helps physical therapy patients at Putnam General put fun into recovery.

Putnam General Hospital has jumped aboard a growing national trend in using the Nintendo Wii video game console in physical therapy.

Coined as "Wiihab", physical therapists see great promise in the video game as a supplement to traditional therapy. It is different from other video games in that users don't just sit on the couch and play. The system's motion-sensitive controller and balance board require players to swing the controller, balance, and move with their animated character on the television screen.

Though not a substitute for traditional physical therapy, the game provides a nice break for patients while still helping to improve their condition. The activities in the Wii Fit portion of the game are especially helpful to patients who are being treated for stroke, hip replacement, knee surgery, and other joint surgeries.

"In therapy, the Wii Fit encourages patients to accept weight bearing on impaired extremities while improving coordination, strength, stability, and balance," says Charles Eisele, physical therapist at Putnam General. "Most of the games can be used to address problem solving, attention, memory, and decision making."

Wii Fit games include a variety of challenges that help a patient work on balance and coordination. One game requires patients to shift their weight on the balance board to guide a marble into a hole on the game board. Another challenges patients to keep a penguin from sliding off an ice floe while helping him catch fish jumping out of the water. The fish are assigned different values based on color, so patients can see their improvement in successive games.

The Wii system also helps with a patient's outlook on recovery and the work required in physical therapy. It allows patients to focus on intrinsically rewarding activities, such as playing a round of golf or baseball, rather than their injuries.

"We added this to provide a new component, a stimulus and some excitement," Eisele says. "You get involved in the games and competition, and you forget you're in therapy."

Putnam General Hospital began using the gaming system about three weeks ago after researching how other hospitals were using the games.