Wii games proving useful for stroke patient rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is unfortunately most times a slow and painful process. Many people have to go through tough sessions for months or even years and sometimes it can be hard to keep focused on the exercise.

Researchers are looking for different ways to help with this process and now some have turned to video games.

Games have proven successful in helping to rehabilitate burn victims and now it seems games might also be beneficial for stroke victims.

The Stroke Outcomes Research Unit at St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada is conducting a study involving the use of Wii games for the treatment of patients recovering from a stroke. By playing games using the WiiMote, patients can exercise while enjoying themselves and this helps them in staying engaged with their rehabilitation.

The study involved 20 patients who were divided in two groups. One group practiced traditional recreational therapy and the other played either Wii Tennis or Wii Cooking Mama. According to the researchers, patients who were assigned to the Wii therapy experienced 30% more improvement than those who underwent traditional therapy.

Another advantage pointed out by the researchers is that Wii consoles are available almost anywhere in contrast to traditional rehabilitation equipment.

A new and larger study is under way to further analyze the effectiveness of this approach but it already shows a lot of promise. Aside from being innovative, the Wii has proven helpful in several other fields and I’m sure this will open the doors into other fields for video games.

Read [BusinessWeek] Also read [CNET]