Wii Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Wii Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Are you familiar with the Nintendo Wii?  The Wii is a commercially available interactive computer game consisting of fun activities that provide immediate feedback and progress the user to more advanced levels.  The WiiFit also comes with a balance board to challenge postural control and balance while measuring success.  Using Wii training for children with cerebral palsy may increase motivational level, engagement and practice time.

An investigative study was completed with 20 children with cerebral palsy (ages 6-12) over an 8 week period to determine whether balance and mobility training at home using the Wii Fit was feasible and provided clinical benefits.  The results indicated that:

• 99% of the Wii Fit training was completed.
• performance on all games improved.
• parents understood the training and recommended the training.
• muscle strength increased in dorsiflexors, plantarflexors and quadriceps.
• preferred walking speed increased, fast speed increased and distance over 6 min increased.
• independence in participation increased (Chiu et al, 2018).

In a separate study to investigate the effect of Wii training on hand function in 40 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, an experimental group received Wii training involving four games for 40 minutes a day, three times a week for 12 weeks plus usual care.  The control group only received usual care. The results of Wii training for children with cerebral palsy indicated that:

• spasticity in the experimental group decreased by 0.4 out of 4.0 more than the control group measured using the modified Ashworth scale.
• power grip strength increased by 1.6 kg. more than the control group measured using dynamometry.
• pinch grip strength by 1.2 kg more than the control group measured using dynamometry.
• hand function increased by 6 out of 52 more than the control group measured by the Peabody developmental motor scale (El-Shamy & El-Banna, 2018).

The researchers concluded that Wii training may decrease spasticity, increase grip strength, increase hand function and improve balance and mobility in children with cerebral palsy.

Read more on:

Exercise Interventions and Cerebral Palsy

Breathing in Children with Cerebral Palsy

References:

Chiu, H. C., Ada, L., & Lee, S. D. (2018). Balance and mobility training at home using Wii Fit in children with cerebral palsy: a feasibility study. BMJ open, 8(5), e019624.

El-Shamy, S. M., & El-Banna, M. F. (2018). Effect of Wii training on hand function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Physiotherapy theory and practice, 1-7.

Therapeutic Play Activities for Children digital download includes 100 play activity pages and 12 tip sheets. The play activities encourage the development of fine motor skills, bimanual skills, rolling, crawling, tall kneeling, standing balance and cruising with a strong focus on children with cerebral palsy.  FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.