Everyone loves playing video games! I know I sure do! It's fun playing and competing with your family and friends and brings upon great laughter and memories. A recent study from the UCSF School of Nursing and Red Hill Studios (a California gaming software) say that they have seen a positive impact on the gait and balance of patients with Parkinson's disease who have played these computer based physical therapy games. Parkinson's is a progressive neuromuscular disease characterized by shaking, slowness in movement, limb, and trunk rigidity. So, the clinical team members designed 9 'clinically inspired' games that are designed to improve coordination in those patients that have Parkinson's Disease. These games are similar to the motion controlled systems such as Nintendo Wii, Playstation Move and Microsoft Kinect that incorporate motion and gesture sensing technology that mimics the movements from the user.
The trial consisted of 20 participants with moderate levels of Parkinson's disease and after playing the games for 12 weeks, 65% of the players demonstrated longer stride length and 55% increased gait velocity and balance. The games have multiple difficulty levels so once the patient passes a certain level it engages them to perform other abilities with different ranges of movement.
As these programs are implemented into various physical therapy programs and other disease states that deteriorate balance and movement, it shows a great promise by implementing these video game programs. While the patients may think that they are just playing a game, they are in fact improving their coordination and movement. Read the article here: Video Games
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