Joystiq

Last December we posted the story of Lance Cpl. John McClellan who used his Xbox 360 as a rehabilitation device. At the time we said other systems would obviously be just as effective and now we have the story of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany using the Wii. According to Stars and Stripes, a First Amendment military paper, the Wii is being used as an experimental physical therapy device at the hospital.

The story focuses on Army Spc. Shawn Roberts who used the Wii for therapy after receiving injuries in Iraq which caused him to have screws implanted in his wrist. The Wii helped him use his wrist again without realizing that he was doing therapy. Roberts says, "I wasn't expecting much out of it ... But you don't notice it while you're doing it because your mind's on the game. But then when you're done? I was sore." Therapists found the system benefiting various kinds of patients and the "department plans to analyze the results" to see if it's worth purchasing more.

This isn't the only military hospital we know of using video games as therapy tools, it's not even the only general therapy Wii story we know. Honestly, at this point, we're shocked that Nintendo hasn't come out with Wii Therapy yet. No, seriously ... utterly shocked. The "game" would be a slowed down version of Wario Ware, but be specifically designed around different physical therapy needs. It's gotta be in the pipeline, Wii Therapy would be PR gold! We can imagine the coverage now.