Wii helps recovery of stroke and joint replacement patients

More and more hospitals are using the Wii console for the rehabilitation of their patients. The Mercy Fairfield Hospital is now using the gaming system to help patients who are recovering from stroke or who had joint replacements.

Details on how the console is helping patients after the jump.

Barry Brewer, who had his hip replacement operation at Mercy Fairfield Hospital, is undergoing rehab with tennis and bowling in Wii Sports instead of going everyday to the gymnasium.

This rehabilitation program is new to the hospital, as they’re giving the Wii a try for the sake of their patients.

Craig Shmidt, director of clinical support services at Mercy Fairfield, had this to say about the rehabilitation program:

They can work on balance and weight-bearing standing, plus have a little competition mixed in. I’d like to see it as a staple of our rehab program. Really what we want to do is market the experience. They’re going to have an atmosphere that’s friendly, that’s fun and where they can go back to their normal life.

Even stroke patients could benefit from the gaming console. Steve Pager, director of the neuromotor rehabilitation and recovery laboratory at Drake Center, said, “Among all stroke survivors, only about 20 percent (regain) sufficient finger control such that they could extend and flex a single finger and control a button on the Wii.”

With the benefits that the Wii is offering to rehabilitation, the Wii and its games will become even more popular to patients and hospitals in the future.