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Wii-habilitation By Sacha Pfeiffer  Listen to story (Real Audio)
As WBUR's Health and Science reporter Sacha Pfeiffer tells us, the health care industry is now embracing virtual gaming for its therapeutic potential. TEXT OF STORY: SACHA PFEIFFER: When Debra Moretti slipped on ice at her Wilmington home in January, she ended up with a broken arm. After three months in a brace and sling, her elbow and shoulder were so stiff she could barely move them. DEBRA MORETTI: I didn't have any range of motion at all. And I was afraid -- very afraid that I'd reinjure it. PFEIFFER: After a few months of traditional physical therapy, her doctor suggested a new type of exercise to loosen her frozen joints: the Nintendo Wii. That's the popular gaming console that responds to body movements. To play baseball, for instance, you act like you're throwing a pitch or swinging a bat. Moretti was skeptical at first. But when her shoulder and elbow began to work again, she became a believer. MORETTI: Then when he said the Wii it was like what am I doing with the Wii? And then it was oh my God I'm moving my arm. I moved it with the Wii and didn't realize I was even moving it so it was really good. PFEIFFER: Most Wii games are just meant to be played for fun. Donkey Kong, Rock Band, that sort of thing. Nintendo itself says it doesn't market or necessarily endorse the console for medical use. But some physical therapists and hospitals are realizing that games such as Wii golf and Wii boxing can help injured patients of all ages get back strength, balance, flexibility, and other functions. This use of Wii for physical therapy even has a cutesy name: Wii-habilitation. PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION: Okay, ready? Oh! I did it, I got a strike! Good job! PFEIFFER: At her physical therapist's office at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Burlington, Moretti uses Wii bowling to practice extending her injured arm. She stands in front of a flat-screen TV showing animated characters at a bowling alley. Then she holds a Wii hand device and pretends it's a bowling ball. Her therapist, Wen-Chih Shih, watches closely. WEN CHI-SHIH: And I noticed that you're a little wobbling when you lunge out so let's work on the balance a little bit. So, do a full motion: cock up, lunge out left leg, and swing. Good job! Perfect! Computer voice says: Nice spare! PFEIFFER: The Wii isn't the only game system used for physical therapy. Massachusetts General Hospital has one, but it also incorporates PlayStation and Dance Dance Revolution, a music video game, into its physical therapy programs. JACKIE MULGREW: You actually mask exercise through fun. PFEIFFER: Jackie Mulgrew is a physical therapist at Mass General. She says Wii and other video games help patients stick to their PT regimens because they forget they're doing rehab. MULGREW: Because that's so much more fun than saying, ?Okay, let's walk up and down the hallway five times.' And I think the key there is they don't realize they're doing therapy. They just know they're having fun. PFEIFFER: Mulgrew and other physical therapists say the Wii alone won't cure injuries. It's part of a broader physical therapy regimen. Injured patients still need traditional PT, such as a heat, ice, ultrasound, manual stretching, and strength training with weights and pulleys. Physical therapists also caution that it's possible for PT patients to cheat themselves by taking shortcuts. Judith Deutsch, editor of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, explains. JUDITH DEUTSCH: There are ways in which you can trick the system or you can do movements that are really not desirable and still do well in the game. So I think you need to be able to supervise somebody and make sure that they're moving in a way that's going to be beneficial for them while at the same time benefiting from the feedback of doing well in the game. PFEIFFER: Jackie Mulgrew of Mass General says patients also have to be monitored to make sure they're not having too much fun with the games. MULGREW: You can't put them down and then what happens is you realize oh my arm is sore or my back is sore or my neck is sore from playing for so long and then we end up having to treat them for that. So there is the risk of increased business. (laughter) PFEIFFER: There's even a catchy name for injuries caused by too much Wii-habilitation. It's called Wii-itis. For WBUR, I'm Sacha Pfeiffer.
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