Wii-habilitation: new physical therapy program

For St. Mary’s Medical Center, the new watchword for the day is “Wii-habilitation”. This is the name for the new program being implemented at SMCC which aims to help patients meet their rehabilitation goals by using the Nintendo Wii’s intuitive game controls. For further information on the Wii-habilitation program, check out our full article after the jump.

Wii-habilitation: that’s the new word being used at St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMCC) for its Acute Rehabilitation Unit to help patients meet their rehabilitation goals by using the Nintendo Wii’s intuitive game controls. Physical and occupational therapy exercises have been developed using the Wii to strengthen muscles and coordinate motions.

The program is currently being used for patients to rebuild lost skills, improve concentration and, physical functions through the Wii’s interactive format. Patients recovering from strokes, spinal injury, broken bones and surgery have so far undergone this treatment.

Developed by Dr. Justin Liu, chair of back and trauma rehabilitation at SMCC, the program aims to exercise the body in ways similar to traditional therapy exercises. He describes this innovative program as such:

In today’s world of constant innovation, it is only natural that we use cutting edge technology to push the envelope of physical rehabilitation while making the overall process more exciting and fun. If patients have great success with achieving functional improvements by using the Wii, it is a very viable option for certain patients to purchase their own Wii system and continue using the program once they return home.

SMCC offers Wii-habilitation video games for tennis, ping-pong, and bowling. The equipment and set up of the Wii-habilitation program costs around US$ 1,300 – a price significantly more cost effective and space efficient than traditional gym equipment.