This month, the Nintendo Wii Fit becomes available to the US market. Have you gotten yours yet? 

It’s a unique exercise game with a Balance Board that can measure a user’s weight and their center of gravity, and calculate the body mass index when told the user’s height.  The balance board is that flat board under the model’s feet. — >

There is obvious excitement over this, since the video ads place this as a very fun exercise game/equipment, where one can do yoga, balance, flexibility, even push-ups, play soccer, etc. It’s supposed to make you more mindful of your health, and keep you moving.

Yesterday, I had a phone conversation with Dr. Mark Klion, orthopedic surgeon at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics. We talked about strain injuries resulting from repetitive activities associated with the Wii Sports that were traditionally seen only in actual competitive sports. He reminded us to limit the game to 30 minutes at the most, and to take breaks when a feeling of discomfort or pain sets in.

As a Wii user himself, Dr. Klion shared his thoughts on the new Wii Fit.

Kids Health Notes:  Now Wii Fit – I saw an ad at the Nintendo website. It seems to be marketed as a video exercise program, similar to a Dvd on Pilates or yoga. What’s your opinion about this?

Dr. Mark Klion: I watched the trailer on the website the other day. You’re standing on a pressure plate and I guess it’s figuring out your weight transference. There is one video standing where they show a young kid on a plate and on screen he’s hitting balls with his head. If it’s picking up your feet signal then it’s translating it from the rest of the body to the head. There’s no sensor on your head or in your hand that I’m aware of. If there’s nothing, then you can literally stand on the plate and just move your toes and heels and it will show that you’re leaning forward and hitting the ball with your head.

I’m not sure, if it’s picking up your head movement more than just your feet. So maybe if you’re really leaning to the left or putting pressure on your left foot and leading forward on your left foot, then it still translates that to the screen.

It’s an interesting concept since it is mimicking a little more of balance work and maybe that’s what the Wii fit is really good because you can have biofeedback for balance. Have someone work on balancing exercise and that’s a very reasonable thing. But to say that you’re doing a Pilates or yoga on a Wii board and you’re gonna make the same work out I’m not sure it makes sense.

It’s an interesting concept there’s no question. The jury will be out once it’s released in the US and people can try it and see what’s the ins and out of it are.

KHN: But you’re excited to try that for yourself too.

DMK: It’ll be fun! I play the Wii with my kids and like any video game it dies out after a while. So when the weather gets warm outside you want to play out.

KHN: Well, thank you so much for your time, Dr. Klion. I certainly learned a lot.

DMK: (The Wii) is definitely different. It’s amazing the number of games that’s out there. But the Wii is about sports, say tennis. That’s the shtick of the game. So they have to keep developing games like that to keep that separate than the standard Nintendo.

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The Nintendo Wii Fit will be available on May 21. If you think this one’s for you, then Amazon has pre-orders for $90.

image: Amazon store 

Post from: Blisstree

Is the Nintendo Wii Fit for you? – orthopedic expert weighs in

Wii of Nintendo

However, with the rise in popularity of Wii comes stories of Wii injuries. Several blogs have become repositories of both funny and serious injuries and Wii problems, mostly resulting from being hit by the remote, usually when the strap breaks. Unfortunately, these are not the only types of injuries associated with playing Wii. Excessively playing the video game has resulted in repetitive strain injuries (carpel tunnel syndrome), back pain, knee and shoulder discomfort and elbow strain (tennis elbow) — conditions normally associated with actual competitive sports.

I interviewed Dr. Mark Klion with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic, who is also a fitness consultant and seasoned athlete. This is the first part of the interview where we talked about playing Wii and Wii Sports. Here I highlight points of the interview for you to get the most of our phone conversation.

Kids Health Notes: I’ve seen a lot of injuries on the web but most of these have to do with hitting someone or something with the console. Do you see a lot of injuries in your practice resulting from over-exertion?

Dr. Mark Klion: We have seen definitely a few injuries like that. I can even tell you as an active user with my kids, I have seen and felt times when I’m boxing my son, that I occasionally develop a little bit of shoulder or elbow discomfort. You’re playing an activity that you normally would not do in real like. It’s a repetitive activity that really has zero limitations to it. When you play the tennis game, you can hit just so many tennis balls but when you were playing outside and half the time you’d be chasing those balls. You’re able to do a lot more in a shorter limited period of time. That’s all of what adds up to an overuse type of injury. And we’ve seen a bunch of injuries from the wii. Most of them are related to the upper extremities – to the shoulder, elbow and wrist.

KHN: Do you think this is becoming a concern among doctors?

DMK: No, I don’t think it’s a concern, it’s not really anything out of the ordinary it’s not specific to the Wii it’s specific to the fact that you’re performing repetitive activity.

KHN: In the real world, people playing tennis, Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Bowling or even Boxing would normally warm-up before the game. But very few people think of playing a video game as a strenuous activity, but it seems that’s the case with Wii. It’s weird to even think to “warm up” before playing it. What other precautions should people take before they get into the game?

DMK: The individuals we’ve seen we’ve obviously cautioned them that if gone from being a couch potato to suddenly a wii owner, our recommendations are that in the first few weeks you start out slow, you limit usage time to 20-30 minutes at the most. Do your own warm-up brisk walk, stretching, or swinging your arms around. If you feel discomfort – stop the activity, put some ice, take a break.

KHN: I don’t’ own a Wii – is there a precaution written in the video game manual to warm up?

DMK: Maybe in newer editions, nothing I’m aware of about athletic endeavor. Now the Wii Fit, I’m sure they’re gonna have some type of precaution since it’s a little more about physical activity.

KHN: Too much video games makes one sedentary. So we tell our children to ‘get out and play’ – have enough of physical activity and sports to keep them healthy. However the Wii is a mimic of these physical activities, Do you think this is better video game than the ones that use just joysticks and thumbs?

DMK: It will never replace activities outside, realistically. You can’t conceivably replace that. It is better than other Nintendo where it’s just hand control. I tell you you learn quickly that you don’t have to swing your arms like you do a tennis racket to mimic the stroke although everybody has a tendency to do that. If you just move your wrist ever so slightly the game picks up that subtle motion and swings the racket for you. You can go around and jump around, that’s definitely more activity. Wii experts, they sit very still and just move their wrists around small little motions and play the same games. It does give you an ability to be a little more active than standard thumb-user but you can also get away and not do that.

KHN: I’ve also seen senior citizens playing Wii-bowling at a nursing home facility. Anything in particular they should be mindful of?

DMK: There’s a lit of press of using these in rehab centers. I can tell you that if you’re confined to a wheel chair and loved to bowl when they were more active, it’s a great outlet for them to play a somewhat active game where they can swing their arms around. It won’t replace being actually in the bowling alley and playing but it’s fantastic. There are definitely some psychological merits, you can have competition among them.

KHN: That’s what I saw!

DMK: Yeah! It’s becoming a social event and you can have more than one player. Other video games have the same thing, but this is different because it’s not a fantasy-based game, it’s sports. It’s doing a little more active movements. From an emotional psychological viewpoint, it’s invaluable.

(This ends Part 1 of my phone interview with Dr. Mark Klion, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine. Tomorrow, I continue the interview and we talk about the new Nintendo exercise game Wii Fit.)

 image: screenshot

Post from: Blisstree

Sports injuries from playing Nintendo Wii – orthopedic expert weighs in