Virtual Rehabilitation through Nintendo Wii in Poststroke Patients: Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in the follow-up the sensory-motor recovery and quality of life patients 2 months after completion of the Nintendo Wii console intervention and determine whether learning retention was obtained through the technique.

METHODS: Five hemiplegics patients participated in the study, of whom 3 were male with an average age of 54.8 years (SD = 4.6). Everyone practiced Nintendo Wii therapy for 2 months (50 minutes/day, 2 times/week, during 16 sessions). Each session lasting 60 minutes, under a protocol in which only the games played were changed, plus 10 minutes of stretching. In the first session, tennis and hula hoop games were used; in the second session, football (soccer) and boxing were used. For the evaluation, the Fulg-Meyer and Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) scales were utilized. The patients were immediately evaluated upon the conclusion of the intervention and 2 months after the second evaluation (follow-up).

RESULTS: Values for the upper limb motor function sub-items and total score in the Fugl-Meyer scale evaluation and functional capacity in the SF-36 questionnaire were sustained, indicating a possible maintenance of the therapeutic effects.

CONCLUSION: The results suggest that after Nintendo Wii therapy, patients had motor learning retention, achieving a sustained benefit through the technique.