Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Money/Health

Media Credit: MCT George Billetz swings his arm in play during a Nintendo Wii game amongst friends at Prestwood Court, a senior living community in Plano, Texas in December.

When Anjali Anand, a former international student from Malaysia, went tubing last September, she said she didn't expect to come back with a compound fracture on her radius, one of the two bones in her right forearm.

After surgery, she began therapy so she could start using her arm immediately.

What Anand wasn't able to implement into her physical therapy was "Wii-habilitation."

Nintendo Wii has been used for the last nine months as a method for therapy on broken bones, gunshot wounds and even stroke recovery.

In an e-mail to The Spectator, Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs, said the company is surprised and pleased that people continue to find new ways to enjoy and benefit of Wii.

"It has grown more and more apparent that the system is being used in rehabilitative settings," she said. "Nintendo has actively supported this growing phenomenon. We've participated in outreach to elder care facilities and several military hospitals in hopes of assisting wounded soldiers with their rehabilitation."

She said although Nintendo does not have any upcoming games specifically designed for medical purposes, "We always find it valuable to consider ideas on how new or existing products might be utilized for therapeutic purposes."

Elizabeth Penny, a recreation therapist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, N.C., said her clinic began using Wii last June when an employee brought one in to try using it with its patients.

"We kind of practiced in the office with (the Nintendo Wii) and then we practiced with a couple of patients," Penny said. "Then we decided to go out and purchase our Wii … We just started trying it with just a variety of different patients, different age, different diagnosis."

Penny said using the Wii was positive for the patient because he could decrease his isolation by playing with friends.

"I think (the Wii) is a creative tool that you are able to use in rehab, it makes it more exciting; it makes it challenging; it brings in competitiveness amongst other patients," Penny said. "I just think that is something that changes the monotonous of just rehab in itself."

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