Wii Fit Effective as Physical Therapy For Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Since its launch in 2006, the Nintendo Wii Fit game console not only has been popularized as a way for players to get in shape, but as a growing form of rehabilitation and physical therapy. Now, researchers have found that Wii Fit can be effectively used to deliver physical therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) foot disease.

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A new study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2010 Congress in Rome, Italy examined “the feasibility and value of the Wii Fit console in the assessment and rehabilitation of RA foot disease,” according to the authors. The Wii Fit guides players through various exercises by simulating sports and other activities, digitalizing player movements and displaying them on a television screen. It also includes a stand-on balance board that converts foot pressure into the on-screen display.

Researchers from the Burton Hospital Foundation Trust in Burton-on-Trent in the United Kingdom studied 13 patients (10 women; mean age, 57 years) with inflammatory arthritis and moderate to severe planovalgus deformity. Over six sessions, the patients were asked to use the Wii Fit and the balance board to steer balls into an on-screen tilt table. The task gained difficulty with the addition of more balls. The researchers measured one-leg standing balance (the mean of five attempts per leg), Visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and the Wii Fit score before and after each session. Activity-specific balance confidence (a measure of confidence to balance) and “timed up and go” (a measure of standing and dynamic balance) were recorded for the first and last sessions.

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