Wii continues role as physical therapist

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Dec 6th 2007 at 2:34PM }

A Reuters article examines one Franklin Perry, a 51-year-old man currently working to regain his strength after suffering a stroke. Though conventional therapy still mainly aids him at the Ohio State University Medical Center's Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital, spending time with Nintendo's Wii has waggled its way into his list of prescriptions. Therapists are encouraging the patients at the hospital to play 30 minutes a day, two to three times a week, noting that the energetic input not only benefits recovery, but keeps older people from rolling their eyes in boredom and lapsing into back in my day states. "The idea of sitting there fiddling a couple of buttons on a video game (controller) is not motivating or interesting at all," explains occupational therapist Robbie Winget.

As for Mr. Perry, he's just keen on heading home and getting a Wii of his own. "I wish I could find one," he says in startling unison with every parent this holiday. "Anybody that's over who wants to play can play. If not, I'll be on that thing all by myself." We just hope someone has the foresight to warn him about Cruis'n, lest he exchange physical therapy for mental reconstruction.

Tags: patient, rehab, Therapy, Wiihab

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 6th 2007 2:39PM

"We just hope someone has the foresight to warn him about Cruis'n, lest he exchange physical therapy for mental reconstruction."

Joke of the day =)

On Topic: Glad to hear that the Wii is heliping some people. Maybe WiiFit will appeal to the same consumers.

gonk @ Dec 6th 2007 2:49PM

i'm sure wiifit will be popular for therapy as well

gogo gadget PT

Martez @ Dec 6th 2007 2:41PM

Why hate on Cruis'n? You can choose your car!

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 6th 2007 2:45PM

Games like Cruis'n, Anubis and Ninja Bread should be illegal to buy.

Dio @ Dec 6th 2007 2:55PM

Great, now no one will ever be able to buy Wiis again if hospitals are recommending them.

ymmv @ Dec 6th 2007 2:57PM

Why am I not surprised the Wii is a hit with folks who have suffered brain damage... ?

JerJerBinks @ Dec 6th 2007 3:09PM

I lol'ed. Honestly, I am not surprised, just check out all the Wii fanboys on this site.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 6th 2007 5:15PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucmg/20071204/cm_ucmg/isbeingademocratbadforyourmentalhealth;_ylt=AmCPY0Ccsyjx3gSYO7_Gmk39wxIF

Replace "Democrat" with "PS3 fanboy", and you have my retort.

Shagittarius @ Dec 6th 2007 6:37PM

cool a retort from a retard.

Mech.Rabbit @ Dec 7th 2007 1:53PM

And once again, Shagittarius, the value of your posts go down.

xFenixKnightx @ Dec 6th 2007 2:57PM

Physical therapy? Wow, I actually own the Wii.....but I guess this is one of the reasons I feel the Wii shouldnt be included in the Current-Gen console wars. Why? Wii is only ahead because of all these gimmicks. 360 and PS3 should be the only systems mentioned in this so called console war which 360 is currently winning ala SNES vs Genesis.

Anni @ Dec 6th 2007 3:07PM

This is the most insightful comment ever and I award you a million Superlogic Points.

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 6th 2007 3:09PM

What happen to you Fenix?

gonk @ Dec 6th 2007 3:23PM

plus, if the wii is included in the war with 360 and ps3, it would quickly win. just as soon as supply can satisfy demand

xFenixKnightx @ Dec 6th 2007 3:47PM

Ahhhh, nevermind you guys are mean =(

(tear)

youruglyclone @ Dec 6th 2007 3:02PM

hahaha I got this in my mailbox at work (I work at a senior center), the manager was like "yeah we should get some from the center" Needless to say I got a laugh out of that. It'll never happen.

gonk @ Dec 6th 2007 3:24PM

what won't happen? you finding some wiis to buy for the center? you just gotta get a little lucky and catch a store right after they get a shipment

youruglyclone @ Dec 6th 2007 3:50PM

no one will ok it, putting the article in our box is just upper management's way of saying they're "looking out" for us...nothing more than a distraction.

even if we did get in, our seniors aren't literate enough to use it, nor do we have enough staff to teach them to use it.

Tron7 @ Dec 6th 2007 3:34PM

As an Occupational Therapy student and a proud wii owner, this is very exciting for me. It makes sense and if I could combine helping people with my love for gaming, that would be awesome. Seriously, I could see health care professionals and game programmers working together to make a wii therapy game that could be used in hospitals and for patients to take home for home exercises.

DCBlack @ Dec 6th 2007 11:13PM

I'm also an OT student, gaining experience under my dad who has some 30 years experience in the field. That's why I will look into Wii Fit. I don't want to intrude on my dad's practice, but I know therapy sessions could be way more interesting than they currently are for the patients. As is, the best thing so far is I play Connect Four with this 5-year old as a reward for his completing his exercises each week. Lame, I know, but he enjoys it.

I'm not a fanboy, but seeing the potential for how the Wii could innovate to such extents, the Big N deserves some kudos, IMO.