BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY | DONNA AND ALLAN LANSING SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES | PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM

By: Kiersten Young & Emily Buckingham

Nintendo Wii Treatment• Enhances compliance1,3

• Rewarding to patient1,3

• Improvement in sensorimotor function• Representation of real-world environments

which may have been prevented due to functional limitations1

• Improvements in upper-limb coordination, manual dexterity, balance, postural stability, and stability control1,2,3

Nintendo Wii Use in Physical Therapy for Children Diagnosed with Down Syndrome

Drawbacks of Physical Therapy Alone• Participation restrictions causing frustration

to patient• Lack of motivation and interest in treatment

activities4

What is Down Syndrome?• Trisomy 21 1,2,3

• Common causes of developmental disabilities and is associated with 1/800 live births1,2,3

• Associated with ligamentous laxity, decreased strength, hypotonia, difficulty with equilibrium, balance, protective response, and delayed postural control and locomotion1,2

• Learning difficulties, cardiac defects, and distinguishing facial features2

Drawbacks of Nintendo Wii Alone• Difficult to apply to participation in the real

world.

Conclusion• Use of Nintendo Wii has shown improvements in upper-limb

coordination, manual dexterity, balance, postural stability, and limits of stability control1,2,3.

• Nintendo Wii in adjunct with traditional therapy helps maintain a child’s interest and enthusiasm for therapy1,2,3.

• Nintendo Wii can be a beneficial tool for at home exercise1.

Benefits of Using Nintendo Wii in PT Sessions• Provides an incentive to fully participate in the therapy

sessions.• Along with a therapists instruction virtual reality systems can correct a patient and provide real time feedback.

Physical Therapy Treatment• Addresses postural control, balance,

strength, gait training, and overall sensory motor control

PICCO• Does the use of therapeutic exercise in

adjunct with Nintendo Wii during therapy sessions in pediatric patients with Down Syndrome have a greater influence on motor skills, postural control, and balance compared to therapeutic exercise alone?

How to Incorporate Nintendo Wii into Therapy• Virtual reality gaming can be placed at the end of treatment to

encourage participation in traditional PT• Competitive atmosphere that increase engagement• Personal profile individualized toward each patient’s interests,

functional limitations, and abilities4.

References1. Berg P, Becker T, Martian A, Danielle P, Wingen J. Motor control outcomes following Nintendo Wii use by a child with Down Syndrome. Pediatric Physical Therapy [serial online]. 2012 Spring 2012;24(1):78-84 7p2. Abdel-Rahman S. Efficacy of Virtual Reality-Based Therapy on Balance in Children with Down Syndrome. World Applied Sciences Journal. 2010; 10: 254-261.3. De Menezes L, Massetti T, Oliveira F, de Abreu L, Herrero D, Malheiros S, Trevizan I, Moriyama C, de Mello Monteiro C. Motor Learning and Virtual Reality in Down Syndrome; a Literature Review.  International Archives of Medicine. 2015; 8 (119):1-11.4. Salem Y, Gropack S, Coffin D, Godwin E. Effectiveness of a low-cost virtual reality system for children with developmental delay: a preliminary randomised single-blind controlled trial. Physiotherapy [serial online]. September 2012;98(3):189-195 7p.7. Kids With Down Syndrome. New and Expectant Parents.; http://kidswithdownsyndrome.org/new-parents.html. Accessed November 19, 2015.

http://gameshapeonline.com/wii/.

http://www.dsamidlands.org/new-parents/pt-ot-slp.html

http://kidswithdownsyndrome.org/new-parents.html.