Potential Benefits of Nintendo Wii Fit Among People with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

We examined the potential of Nintendo Wii Fit (Nintendo Co, Ltd, Kyoto, Japan) to increase physical activity (PA) behavior and health among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study consisted of a repeated-measures design with a baseline control period and involved 30 people with MS who had the ability to walk 25 feet with or without a cane (26 individuals were included in the analyses). Nintendo Wii was set up in the homes of participants, who were prescribed a Wii Fit exercise program lasting 14 weeks, 3 days a week. The Physical Activity and Disability Survey, Modified Fatigue Impact Scale, and 36-item Short Form Health Status Survey were administered three times before participants gained access to Wii Fit (control period, at 2-week intervals), and three times after they received Wii Fit (posttest 1: immediately after; posttest 2: 7 weeks after; posttest 3: 14 weeks after). Mobility, balance, strength, and weight were assessed at the first pretest, immediately prior to obtaining access to Wii Fit, and 7 weeks after obtaining access to Wii Fit. Results from the questionnaires indicated that PA significantly improved at week 7, but at week 14, PA levels declined relative to week 7 and the difference was no longer significant compared with the control period. Physical assessments indicated that balance and strength significantly improved at week 7. One adverse event was reported (repetitive knee injury). Physical assessments indicated that people with MS may be able to improve their fitness levels by using Wii Fit. Future studies should incorporate behavior change strategies to promote long-term use of Wii Fit, and explore whether individuals with more severe symptoms of MS can safely use Wii Fit. Int J MS Care. 2011;13:21-30.

The use of gaming technology for rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis

“…Using the Wii in home-based training can prevent falls in PwMS (Table 1), 28,31 but only Prosperini et al reported that after training had ceased were the improvements in standing balance maintained. 28 Even though these improvements are encouraging, Wii training at home appears to have a smaller effect than other balance rehabilitation approaches.…”

“…Exergaming may be more enjoyable than other forms of activity, 45 but in order to maximize the benefits of PA, exergaming would need to be used over longer periods than currently reported in the literature, and because of this it is very likely that the novelty would wear-off. 31 Exergames are not a "magic pill" or panacea for all rehabilitative needs, 3,31 but they do have their place as an adjunct to traditional therapy/exercise and in order to exploit this potential bespoke exergames need to be developed using a multi-disciplinary approach. Bespoke exergames offer the ability to alter the game and to meet the needs of the individual.…”

“…There are a mix of study designs (Table 1) ranging from case study to RCT; [24][25][26][27][28] there is no consensus about the (a) outcome measures, (b) the duration/frequency of training sessions (training sessions have lasted from 1 day up to a proposed 12 months), 29,30 and (c) the types of game played on these platformsall familiar issues in exergaming research. The one common factor between all the studies reported here is the use of commercially available games, [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] i.e. not games which are specific to the needs of PwMS.…”

A Scoping Review of Exergaming for Adults with Systemic Disabling Conditions

“…We found in our study involving the evaluation of Nintendo Wii Fit in the home over a 14-week period that individuals with MS stopped playing once the novelty wore off and contacts had ceased with the patient. We concluded that the Nintendo Wii Fit does not appear to be the "magic pill" to promote long-term participation in physical activity, and that user characteristics (e.g., gender, race, disability level, past experiences and attitudes towards video games) might influence the types of exergames that patients like to play and the type of strategies that should be implemented to promote adherence [66]. A "one-sizefits-all" approach to delivering exergaming interventions may result in non-adherence.…”

Determining the use and value of social support in Telerehabiliation Interventions for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: A narrative synthesis review

“…Overall, 4 studies, [34,36,39,40], exhibited at least 4 types of bias out of a potential 7. One study [35] scored highly in the risk of bias for both performance and detection bias.…”