I've had my Wii for a while now, but have yet to see any of the benefits that have been ascribed to it - throughno fault of its own.
Wii-hab is the new trend in physical and occupational therapy in rehabilitation hospitals l across the country. The unique design of the Wii controller and its motion sensors make it a great tool to help patients relearn motor skills and enhance hand-eye coordination. One benefit of Wii therapy is that, because the sports games require the user to mimic the actual motions of games such as baseball and tennis, playing these games for an hour a day can provide a great cardio workout and can help build endurance.
While none of these hypotheses has been scientifically proven, ask any rehab professional or Wii player and they will tell you that they have seen the benefits of these games.
I would like to see some of these benefits from my Wii. I bought my system in January 2007 and have loved it since. For the first few weeks, I simply marveled at the fact that there was a video game system that could be played with one hand. I started reading about the therapeutic benefits of Wii and thought it was a great way to exercise. And it was. For an hour a day for about a week, I played sports. When I started to get more games, any benefits I could have gotten were gone.
I still have every intention of playing sports and getting a good cardio workout every time I turn on my Wii. Then I get distracted by Excite Truck or Super Monkey Ball, games that require nothing but a steady hand and a flexible wrist, and all my good intentions are gone again.
If you have been lucky enough to get your hands on a Wii, remember this: Not only is it great for playing games, it also has some wonderful therapeutic uses.
