OBJECTIVE: To use Nintendo's Wii Fit® balance board to determine the effectiveness of exergaming training in reducing risk and incidence of falls among the older adults with a history of falls.
DESIGN: Randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING: A nursing home for older adults. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty older adults aged 65 or above. INTERVENTION: Participants who lived in a nursing home had six weeks of balance training with either Wii Fit equipment or conventional exercise. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) scores and incidence of falls were observed with subsequent intention-to-treat statistical analyses.
RESULTS: PPA scores and fall incidence improved significantly in both groups after the intervention, but the subjects in the Wii Fit training group showed significantly greater improvement in both outcome measures.
CONCLUSIONS: In institutionalized older adults with a history of falls, Wii Fit balance training was more effective than conventional balance training in reducing the risk and incidence of falls.