News

Exercise-based video game aids seniors in avoiding falls

Thursday, December 11, 2008

By Kathy Ricketts

Gazette Reporter

At 85 years old, Wayne Wilson is grateful that he has never fallen.

“It’s something that I think about, though,” said Wilson, who lives at the Beverwyck Independent Retirement Living Community in Slingerlands. “Some days I feel a little unsteady, and I would like something to help steady myself.”

That something might be Wii Fit, a video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is an exercise game consisting of activities utilizing a Wii balance board that players stand on.

The balance board measures a player’s weight and center of gravity, explained Brett Sears, a physical therapist with Capital Region Physical Therapy in Slingerlands, which has been using the balance program for about four months.

The software can then calculate the person’s body mass index when told of their height or weight.

“The sensors in the balance board can kind of sense your body position,” Sears explained. “So there are video games that have various force that you perform while you are standing on the balance board.”

Wii Fit was released in Japan last December and in other regions this past spring.

The game has about 40 different activities, including yoga poses, push-ups and several exercises.

“In terms of balance exercises, the program training is very interesting,” explained Sears. “It’s very interactive. We find that people with balance difficulties have issues with either their vision, their inner ear or the nerve endings on their muscles and joints that tell their brain what position their body is in.”

Sears said Wii Fit offers users’ a visual experience because people have to look at the television screen while moving their body on the Wii platform.

“The goal in terms of patients with balance problems is to keep them interested in working on their balance and prevent falls,” Sears explained.

Because it’s a game, Sears said you score as you go along, and if a patient is doing well on a certain game and their score is improving, you know their balance is improving.

Wii Fit can be used with any age group, but because most falls occur in people over 65, that is the main population Sears works with.

“The biggest predictor of a future fall is somebody who has already fallen,” said Sears. “But it can also be used by patients who are concerned about falling or who feel like they are losing their balance.”

If someone is consistently losing their balance, Sears said they should consult with their physician or physical therapist to determine the cause.

Sears said about one in three people over the age of 65 will fall.

Those who break a hip have a one in five chance of dying in the next year and a 40 percent chance of being admitted to a nursing home.

“Many people can be rehabilitated, but it depends on the severity of the fall,” he said.

Sears said several dozen seniors have used the Wii Fit within the past few months. “Most of the seniors love it,” he said.

Shirley Gibbons, 77, said she has had poor balance most of her life.

“I don’t even know if I can step on the platform,” Gibbons said with a laugh.

With help from Sears, Gibbons stepped onto the platform and decided to play table tilt, a game where you move your body around on the balance board to get balls to fall into holes on a table on the console screen.

Onlookers cheered when Gibbons got some of the balls to fall into the holes.

Gloria Hatch, 88, decided to try the balance bubble.

“You’re going to be inside a bubble on a river, and in order to move the bubble up the river, you can’t touch the sides of the canyon,” Sears explained. “So you have to lean your body and shift your weight on the platform.”

A crowd of about 20 onlookers cheered as Hatch made her way down the river, hitting the canyon only a few times.

“What’s really great about all these games is they strengthen your core muscles,” said Sears.

“It was fun,” said Hatch when she finished the game.

On the tightrope

Laura Costello, 83, tried tightrope walking.

“You have to walk in place and shift your balance to the left or right to stay on the tightrope,” Sears explained.

“You have to lean one way or the other to stay on the rope. So it’s kind of difficult, but it’s fun,” said Costello. “I’d like to do it all the time now.”

Since he had a stroke back in 1999, Art Hengerer, 95, said he has been concerned about his balance.

Hengerer, who uses a walker, opted to play soccer, where players lean to the left or the right to hit soccer balls with their head.

“My head hurts,” Hengerer joked, as he played the game.

“It was interesting and fun,” he said when the game ended. “I’d try to play again.”

Link to Article in Gazette here: