Jan. 9, 2013, 4:30 a.m.
UP TO 20 stroke victims are being sought for a new rehabilitation program that uses Nintendo Wii being trialled in Armidale.
Penelope McNulty, a neurophysiologist at Neuroscience Research Australia, said between 60 and 90 people in Armidale suffered a stroke every year.
She called for volunteers for the 14-day program, which will take place at the Broadband Smart House in Queen Elizabeth Drive later this month.
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Showing posts with label therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label therapy. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Monday, 30 April 2012
A balancing act so watch it
Bianca Clare | 31st March 2012
www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au
A GROUP of Sunshine Coast seniors is set to spend more time in front of the television to see if it helps improve their co-ordination and balance.
University of Sunshine Coast PhD student and physiotherapist Vaughan Nicholson is examining whether the co-ordination and balance for people aged over 55 can be improved by playing Nintendo Wii Fit virtual games.
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The video game has different activities including yoga poses, push-ups, strength, balance and aerobic exercises. Mr Nicholson said laboratory testing of participants from Lend Lease's Hibiscus Bellflower Retirement Resort and Hibiscus Chancellor Park began last week. "The average age of the participants is early 70s," he said. "We are trying to determine if taking part in a Wii Fit balance program improves several clinical and laboratory-based measures of balance and mobility. "Those measures then have a relatively direct relationship to predicting falls."
The Wii Fit includes a balance board that records movements and gives feedback. Mr Nicholson said participants were required to complete three 30-minute sessions a week, over a six-week period, at their retirement villages. "They will have nine balance games to select from, including tightrope walking and ski slalom. "We'll also look at the enjoyment they gain by playing these games because one of the protocols is that they have to do the gaming with at least one other person." Mr Nicolson said his project would be the first to examine potential benefits of Wii Fit on healthy, independent older adults.
Click here for more info
www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au
A GROUP of Sunshine Coast seniors is set to spend more time in front of the television to see if it helps improve their co-ordination and balance.
University of Sunshine Coast PhD student and physiotherapist Vaughan Nicholson is examining whether the co-ordination and balance for people aged over 55 can be improved by playing Nintendo Wii Fit virtual games.
+/- Click for more/less
The video game has different activities including yoga poses, push-ups, strength, balance and aerobic exercises. Mr Nicholson said laboratory testing of participants from Lend Lease's Hibiscus Bellflower Retirement Resort and Hibiscus Chancellor Park began last week. "The average age of the participants is early 70s," he said. "We are trying to determine if taking part in a Wii Fit balance program improves several clinical and laboratory-based measures of balance and mobility. "Those measures then have a relatively direct relationship to predicting falls."
The Wii Fit includes a balance board that records movements and gives feedback. Mr Nicholson said participants were required to complete three 30-minute sessions a week, over a six-week period, at their retirement villages. "They will have nine balance games to select from, including tightrope walking and ski slalom. "We'll also look at the enjoyment they gain by playing these games because one of the protocols is that they have to do the gaming with at least one other person." Mr Nicolson said his project would be the first to examine potential benefits of Wii Fit on healthy, independent older adults.
Click here for more info
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Older Adults Prefer Traditional Therapy Techniques Over Interactive Video Games
Researchers from Finders University set out to determine if hospitalized older adults accepted interactive video games such as the Nintendo Wii Fit as a therapeutic tool. The results of their study were published in the October issue of BMC Geriatrics.
Led by Kate Laver, MD, of the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Finders University, Adelaide, South Australia, the researchers used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) before and after exposure to the intervention to determine the therapy preference for 21 participants.
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A DCE was administered in interview-style format prior to and following several sessions of physiotherapy using the Wii Fit. Attributes of the DCE included mode of therapy, amount of therapy, cost of therapy program, and percentage of recovery made. The physiotherapist who prescribed the Wii Fit activities was on hand to supervise and support the patient during the therapy sessions. According to the study’s results, before therapy sessions the program participants were more concerned about therapy time, including avoiding programs that were too intensive, and the amount of recovery they would make. After the therapy program, however, researchers found that the participants were more concerned with the type of therapy performed, preferring traditional therapy programs instead of programs using the Wii Fit. The researchers concluded that the usefulness of Wii Fit and other interactive video games as a therapy tool for hospitalized older adults is limited by the small proportion of those who are able to use the device, as well by the participants’ preference for traditional forms of therapy. Source: BMC Geriatrics Click here for more
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A DCE was administered in interview-style format prior to and following several sessions of physiotherapy using the Wii Fit. Attributes of the DCE included mode of therapy, amount of therapy, cost of therapy program, and percentage of recovery made. The physiotherapist who prescribed the Wii Fit activities was on hand to supervise and support the patient during the therapy sessions. According to the study’s results, before therapy sessions the program participants were more concerned about therapy time, including avoiding programs that were too intensive, and the amount of recovery they would make. After the therapy program, however, researchers found that the participants were more concerned with the type of therapy performed, preferring traditional therapy programs instead of programs using the Wii Fit. The researchers concluded that the usefulness of Wii Fit and other interactive video games as a therapy tool for hospitalized older adults is limited by the small proportion of those who are able to use the device, as well by the participants’ preference for traditional forms of therapy. Source: BMC Geriatrics Click here for more
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“The therapy uses latest information about the neuroplasticity of the brain to help rehabilitate stroke victims, “ Dr McNulty said yesterday.
“It’s an intensive, regime based on the Wii that results in significant improvements in the way stroke patients are able to use their hands and arms.
“The Wii is inexpensive, easy to use and fun. This type of rehabilitation motivates patients to complete their therapy, which is essential to maximise recovery.”
Dr McNulty will follow the progress of the volunteers through Skype from her Sydney office.
Volunteers must be able to make their way independently to the home in Queen Elizabeth Drive and provide details of a carer.
Volunteers must also have some disability in one upper limb. They will use the Wii remote in their more affected hand to control play and augment their formal therapy with daily home practice that progressively builds towards three hours per day over the program.
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