WENDY R. LEVINE GROSS

Left to right: Beth Birkmire, recreational therapist at Bayfront Medical Center, Armand (Moe) Gaudette, patient and Sandy Arsenault, physical therapist enjoying at Wii moment.

After suffering a stroke in July 2008, 82-year-old Armand (Moe) Gaudette of Pinellas Park, was unable to participate in his biweekly bowling league games. However, thanks to therapists at St. Petersburg’s Bayfront Medical Center and Ninetendo’s Wii game console, Gaudette was able to practice and hone his bowling skills while hospitalized.

Since this past March, when a Bayfront staffer anonymously donated a Wii to the hospital, 15 to 20 patients ranging in age from 19 to 82 have enjoyed Wii therapy combined with traditional physical, occupational, recreational and speech therapies.

Introduced in the United States in 2006, Nintendo’s Wii is a home video console featuring a wireless controller capable of detecting motion in three dimensions. Wii Sports consists of five separate games including tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing.

After selecting an avatar from one of Wii’s channels to carry out moves, using a hand held remote fitted with a wrist strap, patients practice appropriate moves for the sport they are playing.

In addition to helping patients improve their balance, playing the simulated game also builds muscle tone while increasing range of motion and sharpening eye/hand coordination.

Who decides if Wii therapy will be employed for a particular patient? According to Beth Birkmire, a recreational therapist at Bayfront, either the patient’s physician or therapist makes the decision based upon the patient’s physical circumstances and “prior leisure interests.”

“As the technology is becoming more widespread, more and more doctors are asking for Wii therapy,” said Birkmire, adding, “As physicians see progress made by their patients, they are more willing to recommend it for other patients.”

In Guadette’s case, Birkmire knew that the octogenarian loved his biweekly bowling sessions. To help him regain use of his left side which was affected by the stroke, she recommended Wii therapy combined with traditional physical and recreational therapies.

For 30 minutes five days a week, Gaudette, Birkmire and physical therapist Sandy Arsenault try to outdo each other as they “roll” the ball down the lane Wii style.

An observer to one of these sessions might see a man in a wheelchair joking with his “team” members. For Gaudette, the Wii experience “is good therapy.” “It is helping me use my muscles, plus I have pretty ladies to bowl with,” said the good humored patient.

Laughter aside, Birkmire noted that since beginning Wii therapy, Gaudette’s overall quality of life has improved. When he was admitted to Bayfront he could barely move. Now he is more aware of both sides of his body, and is able to sit balanced and shift his weight. He is also able to “self-correct” more often.

The ultimate goal of Guadette’s Wii therapy is to get him back to bowling in a standing position so he can rejoin his friends at Seminole Lanes.

While Birkmire tries to make bowling a fun “social interaction,” Arsenault helps Gaudette with his posture by cuing him in which direction he needs to move.

Because Gaudette’s eyesight is diminished due to macular degeneration, his therapists also act as his eyes telling him where to throw the ball. He said his friends at the bowling alley also help him in this way.

Although other patients receiving Wii therapy are able to play outside of the prescribed therapy sessions, because of his balance problems, Gaudette is unable to do so.

In addition to his half hour of Wii recreational therapy, Gaudette receives one and one-half hours of occupational therapy and one hour of physical therapy daily.

During physical therapy he is given exercises to help with his sitting balance and to strengthen his left side.

With a focus on range of motion to help bring back muscle movement, occupational therapy consists of real life functioning such as dressing and grooming.

Citing the benefits of Wii, Birkmire noted that she “can work on functional skills with patients and they don’t even realize they are doing therapy.”

In addition to stroke patients such as Gaudette, at Bayfront Wii therapy is used for patients with a myriad of ailments including traumatic brain injuries, amputations as well as those recovering from orthopedic surgery.

Although Nintendo doesn’t promote Wii for the purpose of rehabilitation, Wii Sports has been used to aid in the physical therapy of a Canadian boxer as well as injured soldiers in Prescott, Ariz.; Washington, D.C. and Landstuhl, Germany.