Vestibular rehabilitation therapy and… Wii Fit?
I’m due to start vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) very soon, and I’m very hopeful that it’s going to allow me to feel better. I know I probably should have started it after my initial episode of severe vertigo three years ago, but I didn’t really know about it then. I just hope it’s not too late to start it now.
I’m also a big fan of gaming on the Nintendo Wii, and I’m excited for the Wii Fit to come out in North America on May 21st — in case you haven’t seen or heard of the Wii Fit, here’s a short video explaining what it is and what it can do:
If you watch the video, you can see that the Wii Fit has exercises that are specifically for improving balance — and I wonder if they could be useful for someone who has a balance disorder.
As I was planning on getting the Wii Fit anyway, I thought I would try a little experiment and try using the Wii Fit on a daily basis to see if it improves my symptoms of disequilibrium. I’ll fill you in further on this once I’ve actually got the Wii Fit in my hands.
I’d be curious to know if anyone has any thoughts on whether this would be a good tool for balance retraining (much like vestibular rehabilitation therapy). And in case you’d like to read more about the Wii Fit, you can check out the Wii Fit Wikipedia entry.
7 Comments, Comment or Ping
thelight1974
The wii fit has helped me, particularly the yoga section.
May 18th, 2008
Vertigo Guy
Yes, unfortunately I think us North Americans are the last to get the Wii Fit (boohoo), and I’ve heard lots of good things from people in other countries who have it already.
I’m glad that you’ve found it useful — that makes me even more excited to try it out!
May 19th, 2008
Brian Werner
I am a physical therapist that owns and operates a balance center in Las Vegas, NV. We use the Wii system regularly in the treatment of balance with our patients. We have the Fit program and found it helpful. We also use the Sport activities while doing balance beam exercises to challenge the balance system through both the eyes and standing. What I beleive is good balance equates to a healthy vestibular system. Please stop by my website to see what we do.
Oct 4th, 2008
Vertigo Guy
Thanks for stopping by Brian. I’m always interested in anything that can improve balance for me or anyone else suffering from this unfortunate condition. Sadly, VRT hasn’t really help me very much, mainly I think due to the fact that I have bilateral loss. While my right side is worse, my damaged left side is not really doing all it can to compensate.
But I’d like to say that for anyone suffering from a balance problem, don’t hesitate to try VRT, even if your doctor tells you it won’t help. In my case, insurance paid for it, and all it cost me was a few hours of my time. Anything’s worth a shot to feel better.
Oct 10th, 2008
Wii Fit
Yoga section is really great. My whole family using it and we are happly way it’s work for us.
Oct 31st, 2008
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