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Wii Fit Used to Diagnose Concussions in Football Players

by Caleb Johnson on August 20, 2010 at 08:10 AM

Wii Fit used to diagnose concussionsWith concussions becoming a focal point in sports medicine, doctors and trainers are searching for new ways to diagnose these dangerous injuries. According to The Washington Post, for the past year, athletic trainers at the University of Maryland and Ohio State University have been using Wii Fit to test the balance of football players in order to more accurately diagnose concussions. To begin, athletes perform a baseline balance test, which involves either standing on the Wii's balance board and mimicking onscreen yoga poses, or shifting their weight to make marbles roll into an onscreen hole. They then receive a score based on their performance. If an athlete suffers head trauma, he's asked to perform the tests again. Doctors and trainers can then compare the second results with the baseline score to see if any balance has been lost -- a telltale sign of a concussion.

Many college athletes spend their downtime playing video games, so they're comfortable with these tests, and even have fun with them. But fun and comfort only mean so much, since a concussion is tough to diagnose by balance alone. As long as the Wii Fit's results are used to supplement regular check-ups, and not to supplant them, we say let the head games begin. [From: The Washington Post]




Tags: concussions, football, gaming, health, injury, research, sports, top, VideoGames, Wii, wii-fit, WiiBalanceBoard

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