’Wii’ Got Game!

Had trouble finding the Nintendo Wii video game system in stores this holiday season? Worry not, we have it right here at Game Shape! No, it’s not for sale, rather, ready for you to experience and play for yourself. Experience the area’s first physical therapy and fitness center to have the Wii and to incorporate it into patients’ and members’ exercise programs!

As many of you know, the Wii has been one of the hottest items since its 2006 release. To those who may be unfamiliar, the Wii is the first video game system on the market that requires the player’s body movements to control the actions in the game, making it completely interactive. The player holds a remote-like controller, which has plastic bat, racket, and club attachments for the baseball, tennis, and golf games respectively, that the player swings in response to the actions on the screen.

Why ‘Wii’ use it:

It’s movement! As a whole, we’ve become a more sedentary society. Obesity and other health related issues are on the rise, especially among children. Any movement is beneficial.

Schools across the nation have begun using the Wii and other video game bicycles in their Physical Education programs. Children spend hours playing video games and enjoying doing so. The Wii allows children to exercise without knowing it.

Compliments our Personal Training exercise programs. Our trainers have begun using the Wii with both their younger clients and their athletes. The Wii has offered the following benefits:

• A wider selection of movements that are sports-specific
• Increases cardiovascular endurance
• Improves reaction time
• Increases agility
• Increases fine and gross motor control
• Improves balance and weight transfer
• Improves sensory perception
• Increases range of motion (ROM)

Assists with Rehabilitation. Our Physical Therapists have begun using the Wii as a part of their patients’ exercise rehab programs. The Wii has offered the following benefits:

• Increases the joints’ range of motion (ROM)
• Improves the vestibular system (balance control)
• Improves hand-eye coordination
• Increases body-space awareness
• Improves gross (large muscle) motor skills
• Retrains neurological system to fire the correct muscle fibers in an injured area
• Relieves joint and muscular pain
• Improves sensory perception

Examples of Exercise Programs Using Wii:

• Using the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) game to rehab an ankle sprain.
• Placing a baseball athlete on versa discs to improve balance and stability through his swing while playing Wii Sports-Baseball

• Helping an elderly member improve balance, range of motion, and weight transfer by playing Wii Sports-Bowling and placing a mat on the floor to increase the instability on his approach.
• Using Wii Sports-Golf to fine tune a member’s golf swing.
• Using Wii Sports-Tennis to increase ROM and reduce pain in a patient rehabilitating a rotator cuff tear.
• Using Wii Sports’ and DDR’s fitness testing programs to assess the fitness levels of personal training clients.

• Allowing the weight bearing exercise of dancing to the DDR game to help improve bone density in patients with osteoporosis.
• Using Wii Sports-Boxing to increase muscle size, strength, and endurance in a patient whose muscles have atrophied from a shoulder injury.

Who Would Benefit from Using the Wii:

• Any child who enjoys playing video games, especially the less active individual.
• Elderly
• Athletes
• Gym members seeking a change or more excitement in their routines.
• Physical Therapy patients
• Members new to exercise or who find exercising challenging, looking for a fun, motivating workout.
• Anyone and Everyone!

In brief, the Game Shape staff believes the Wii is an invaluable addition to our commitment of helping our members and patients improve their health and well-being and have begun to incorporate the Wii in our exercise programs. The feedback from those who have already had it added to their programs has been nothing but positive! Those who use it are thoroughly supervised by our knowledgeable staff to ensure safety, motivation, and that they are maximizing all the physical benefits the Wii has to offer. Don’t miss out on the fun! Please contact us to find out how the Wii or any of our other services can help you get back into game shape!