Dynamic Stability Requirements During Gait and Standing Exergames on the Wii Fit® System in the Elderly
By Duclos, Cyril; Mieville, Carole; Gagnon, Dany; Leclerc, Catherine; Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, Volume 9, Number 28Publication Date: May 20, 2012
Study sought to determine whether a stabilizing/destabilizing forces model can show differences in how exercise based games challenge the stability of older patients compared to natural and fast gait speed. Participants were 2 men and 5 women without disabilities and with a mean age of 66 years. All 7 participants were evaluated with three dimensional motion analysis during gait at natural and fast speed, and during three games from the Nintendo Wii Fit system, with an a priori increasing level of difficulty. The games used were (1) the 50/50 Challenge, in which the player has to maintain equal body weight between the two lower limbs, using visual feedback of weight distribution and the target; (2) Ski Slalom, during which the player has to shift his weight from one leg to the other to control an avatar and lead it between slalom gates; and (3) Soccer, during which the player shifts her weight from one leg to the other to move an avatar’s body and head in front of a ball coming at the avatar. Study results showed that postural stability did not differ much between the evaluated tasks (except for the 50/50 Challenge, where mean postural stability was lower), compared to dynamic stability, which was significantly less challenged during the games than during the functional tasks. The authors conclude that games with greater center of mass displacements and changes in the base of support are likely to stimulate balance control enough to see improvements in balance during dynamic functional tasks, and could be tested in pathological populations with the approach used in this study.
Published by: BioMed Central Ltd (Website:http://www.biomedcentral.com)
Link to text: http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/pdf/1743-0003-9-28.pdf
