April 30, 2008 10:09 pm
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By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Helen Shafer outdid all her friends Monday in bowling.
“I got a pretty good arm,” the 91-year-old said.
Shafer had the top score of 407 in bowling on the Nintendo Wii video-game system at Quaker Hill Manor in Lowell, Kan.
Shafer said she bowled when she was younger but never played a video game before the nursing home bought the Wii.
“It’s a game,” she said. “I like games. I enjoy it.”
Growing trend
Area hospitals and nursing homes are joining a nationwide trend of using the Wii for rehabilitation and physical therapy. The Wii is an active system requiring upper body movement, unlike other video-game systems. The Wii is even being used at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as therapy for soldiers injured in Iraq.
Geneva York had a poor start to her bowling game at Quaker Hill Manor.
“Push that button,” York said. “Swing that arm and let ’er rip.”
“That was bad,” she said, looking at the result. Her game improved some as it progressed.
Afterward, York said she had never bowled before and had never played a video game.
“I think it’s fun,” she said. “It’s good relaxation.”
Velma Stilley, 73, said the game system strengthens her arm and reduces back pain. She said she bowled in leagues when she was in her 40s.
“I love it,” Stilley said. “I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Positive results
Freeman Health System in Joplin has used the Wii for patient therapy for about three months, said Brenda Pieper, director of in-patient rehabilitation therapy. Pieper said she is seeing benefits for stroke patients.
“We’re seeing them able to, instead of concentrating on their deficit, concentrate on playing the game or having fun,” Pieper said “It’s increasing their function.”
She said orthopedic patients and those who have had knee surgeries and amputations also benefit from the game system.
“They’re loving it,” Pieper said. “So do the therapists. It’s a lot more fun than just holding a weight.”
She said one stroke patient who was a softball pitcher in the past showed improvement using the baseball game.
“This has really increased the functionality of her arm,” Pieper said.
She said older patients gravitate toward bowling, while those from the baby boom generation like golf. She said another plus is that patients can buy a Wii for themselves — if they can find one — and use it at home on their own.
Pieper said she looks at the Wii as a supplement to the regular regimen, but she is open to using anything that works.
“You’ve got to be flexible,” she said.
Up and moving
Josh Trosper, a physical therapist at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, said he had heard that the Wii system that had been ordered arrived Monday. He said he hopes to start using it with patients in the next week or so.
“My big goal with the Wii is to get people up and moving,” Trosper said.
He said he thinks the Wii would help young people with traumatic brain injuries from vehicle accidents, especially those who have played video games before. He said it also may benefit some patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Trosper said he hopes the interaction the Wii requires will get patients involved and distract them from their limitations.
“Their focus is going to be on the game,” he said. “Their focus is directed elsewhere.”
Compared with some therapeutic equipment, he said, the Wii is relatively inexpensive. Prices for the game system among online retailers ranged from $250 to $564, but some Web sites were sold out or noted limited supplies.
Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center in Pittsburg, Kan., plans to purchase a Wii next year, a hospital spokesman said.
Peggy Wimbish, activity director at Spring River Christian Village in Joplin, said she hopes to begin using the new Wii with residents next week.
“It’s an all-around physical and mental workout, and just plain enjoyment,” Wimbish said.
She said the Wii will help with eye-and-hand coordination and stimulate residents’ brains.
“It hits all different levels,” she said.
The burn
A British Medical Journal study of the Nintendo Wii video-game system found that players expended more calories than they did playing sedentary video games, but not as much as they would playing the sport itself.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
Globe/T. Rob Brown
Roxanne Fanning, a social-service director, helps resident Jerry Reece operate a Nintendo Wii wireless controller this week at Quaker Hill Manor in Lowell, Kan. Area hospitals and nursing homes are among those using the Wii for rehabilitation and physical therapy. The Wii requires upper body movement, unlike other video-game systems.