If you thought the Wii was good only for video gaming, you are in for a bit of a surprise! The Wii is now being used in Therapy. The idea for using the Wii as therapy incepted seemingly from a rehab hospital in Alberta, Canada which was using the popular video game console from Nintendo.

According to Winget, an occupational therapist, who had a chance encounter with the Wii, playing with the Wii could help in building lower and upper body strength in addition to balance, endurance and coordination.

According to Winget, using your body to control movement is a great idea. Since about four months Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital in Columbus has used the Wii to help patients recover form strokes, traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. In addition this has been used by patients to find information online to improve brain function.

At Dodd hall Wii-Therapy is regularly used for about thirty minutes per day. This happens two-three days a week. The Wii is very appealing to older patients according to Winget. This is due to the unique motion sensing abilities of the Wii. The Wii-mote can be held while bowling for strikes or when fighting in a video game.

Although pushing patients hard on physical therapy is the norm, the Wii results in the patients voluntarily taking themselves higher.