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In nursing facilities, therapists have new tool to improve seniors' health: Nintendo Wii By Donald Bradley
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) From her wheelchair, Doris Strong jabbed with her right. Her corner wanted her to use her left. "Hit him in the face!" an occupational therapist urged her. "Uppercut!" said another. "Your left! Your left!" Strong, smiling like a sweet grandma on Thanksgiving, threw a combination that staggered her opponent against the ropes, and down he went. "Way to go, Doris!" cheered someone in the small crowd that had gathered in the therapy room at the Carondelet Manor nursing facility next to St. Joseph Medical Center. Strong turned to one of the therapists and asked softly, "Are we going to bowl now?" And just like that, the boxing ring on the 50-inch, flat-screen Sony television turned into a bowling alley. Wii (pronounced "we") has become a big hit with senior citizens. It's the first video game system to crack the demographic that grew up in the days before television. In retirement communities and senior centers across the country, residents are getting together and playing Nintendo's Wii, which uses a wireless remote to transfer body movements to an animated character on the screen. They go through the motions of hitting a baseball, swinging a tennis racket and driving a golf ball off a tee. Some places even have Wii bowling leagues. Beyond the fun of taking seniors back to the games of their youth, Wii increasingly is being used by health professionals in nursing facilities to improve balance, endurance, range of motion, hand-eye coordination and sequencing abilities. The occupational therapists at Carondelet Manor weren't really rooting for Doris Strong to KO her boxing opponent. They wanted her to aim for a target, thrust her arms - both of them - and build endurance. Dee Leman, regional director of rehabilitation for long-term care at Carondelet facilities, said Wii is great for the cardiovascular system and coordination and also helps ease the mental frustration of patients who are going through a tough time after a stroke or orthopedic injury, for example. "We used to have those patients throw a ball back and forth," Leman said. "Well, how many times can you throw a ball before that gets old?" Wii hit the American market in late 2006. It's unclear how soon it was first used in therapy for seniors. "But no question it's popping up all over the place now," Maureen Peterson of the American Occupational Therapy Association said from her office in Bethesda, Md. The key to "Wii-habilitation," she said, is that it is so fun and engaging, patients don't even realize the fitness benefits. That is something occupational therapists are always looking for. Because if patients like the activity, they are more willing to do it. Some of the games provide more of a workout than patients have had in years. "My husband and I tried Wii for the first time recently, and we woke up the next day with sore muscles we didn't know we had, and I'm 55," Peterson said. "It's quite amazing." Nintendo, the Japanese electronics giant that captured a younger generation's zeal with Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and Game Boy, knows a lot of Wii units are going to retirement communities and nursing facilities, but it can't say how many seniors are playing. "But considering that prior to Wii the number of console-playing seniors was about zero, I'll say it's an infinite jump," said Denise Kaigler, a vice president for Nintendo of America. This game system resonates with seniors because they know the importance of staying active but often can't play the games of their younger years. Maybe part of the appeal to a generation that grew up without TV is that when they were kids they had to get out of the house and make their own fun. Unlike with other game systems, Wii players actually go through the physical motions of, say, hitting a baseball. "Wii gets people off the couch and moving," Kaigler said. "And in retirement communities, it's become an important social hub as people come together to play." Sort of like the old sandlot. At Foxwood Springs, a large retirement community in Raymore, Mo., an auditorium regularly takes on the look of a bowling alley with buckets of iced-down soda pop and bowls of pretzels. Two teams sit to the sides. In front are the lanes - on a projection screen. The virtual game works better for resident Glada Kelley, a regular bowler until a few years ago. "The manager of the place made me quit because I kept dropping the ball," she said. No such problems with Wii, though players must wear a safety strap that is connected to the remote. As Jack Read, who worked 40 years as a railroad telegrapher, explained to a new player at Foxwood last week: "They make us put this strap on so we don't throw the remote through the screen." Read and others in the session were "independent living" residents. Soon, Wii is scheduled for those in assisted living and even the Alzheimer's unit. Foxwood executive director Robert Woolrich believes nearly all residents can enjoy Wii. Some just need encouragement to get up and try. "It's like, 'Do you want to bowl or play tennis or ... just sit there with a coloring book?' " Woolrich said. The man's bowling ball looked good at first but then hooked left. "Gutter ball," a woman at Carondelet Manor whispered to her friend. Later, when it was her turn, she begged off: "I'm going to watch a while." Video games can be a challenge even for those who grew up with a controller in their hands. Imagine trying for the first time at 80. A woman struggled last week during a Wii "cow race" with another patient. Her cow kept leaving the road and running into trees. "I can't get my cow back on the road," she grimaced. Occupational therapist Laurie O'Dell said older patients are often reluctant at first. "This is all new to them," she said. "But after they watch a while, they want to do it, and they have a lot of fun because they all have played some of these games." Foxwood Springs resident Bob Cook, who helps run the center store, said he loves baseball but struggles with the Wii game. "I can pitch, but can't hit worth a darn," Cook said. "I'm swinging either too early or too late. "Maybe I need to go to spring training. I'd be better next year." Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Mitch Albom | |||||||||||
