Video games seem to get a bad reputation when it comes to health concerns. Don't sit too close to the TV or your eyesight will go. Don't sit and play video games when you could be exercising. Go outside and play rather than stay inside. Violent video games will turn our youth into criminals and murderers. But despite our mother's hesitations, video games can actually make you healthier and stronger. While Xbox and PlayStation battle each other to come out with the bigger and better features for hardcore gamers, the Nintendo Wii stands on an island alone, attracting the likes of senior citizens and rehabilitation specialists who are using it to transform the way we see physical therapy.
Anyone who has gone through physical rehabilitation for an injury knows that the movements can be repetitive and frankly pretty boring after a while. there's only so many times you can move your arm up and down without wanting to fly out of the place and move on with your day. Physical rehabilitation is used to target specific muscle groups to stretch and strengthen them after injury, which is why therapists have turned to Wii games to provide more entertaining and enjoyable experience to their clients.
The Wii console has been on the market for a decade now, marketing itself as a family friendly game system which features games which use physical movements to control the virtual player through the Wii stick. Wii games are aimed at body and limb movements, strength training, and balance. Some of the most popular games are Wii bowling, tennis and boxing which help to isolate small muscle movements. Although Nintendo never intended its Wii console to be used as a physical therapy aid, it is pleased to know it can help others heal as company representative Anka Dolecki stated in an article in USA Today, "We are happy to see that people are finding added benefit in rehabilitation"
Beyond the scope of physical wellness, the Nintendo Wii has improved the overall quality of life within senior citizen homes across the nation through the establishment of Wii Bowling leagues. Yes, leagues of senior homes playing virtual bowling. As wacky and unconventional as it sounds, it has improved the morale of senior homes, bringing a sense of comradely as well as competition to the residents, and it's a nice break from playing card games all the time. And at $250 for a console, games and controllers, it's an affordable option to keep the health, wellness, and morale of senior communities upbeat.
Since Wii's introduction into the world of physical rehabilitation, other forms of gaming technology have integrated themselves into different segments of the healthcare market. Since the introduction of Kinect's motion sensing technology for Xbox systems, Avanade, a joint venture with Accenture have developed a system which allows physicians and patients to be connected through their gaming consoles. The systems connects the user's Kinect technology within their Xbox to Skype video chat as well as HealthVaultEHR, an electronic health record system, allowing the patient and doctor to video chat and use the Kinect motion sensing technology to develop, track and monitor physical therapy exercise progression.
Another form of gamification within the healthcare sector is the use of fitness trackers to monitor personal health statistics. Devices such as Fitbits and the Nike FuelBand have allowed persons to monitor their heart rate, calories burned, physical activity levels. In order to encourage user's to continue with their fitness goals, the FuelBand app offers goals, achievements and awards.
This won't be the last we see of games within the healthcare industry. As technology becomes more advanced, further integrated into our everyday activities, as well as attention spans decreasing gamification will offer new ways for health care providers to better care for their clients and health insurance companies could use their consumer's stats in order to develop a better suited policy based on their real time facts and figures.
