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“Active video games (AVG) provide a low-cost, commercially available system that can be strategically selected to address specific therapeutic goals,” says lead investigator Elaine Biddiss, PhD, of Toronto’s Bloorview Research Institute at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, and the University of Toronto, Canada. “While our results did not show that AVG game play can be regarded as a replacement for more vigorous physical activity or muscle strengthening, we found that some games may provide targeted therapy focused on specific joints or movements.”Researchers found that certain games, such as Wii boxing, may be a good choice for encouraging and training faster wrist movements. This is important for children with CP as they commonly experience difficulty in extending their wrists. Children with hemiplegia, a form of CP that affects the limbs on one side of the body, frequently underutilize their affected limb regardless of their functional abilities. In the study, children engaged both upper limbs when playing Wii Boxing or DDR. “Wii boxing, or similar games, may be an effective motivational environment for encouraging increased movement speed of the hemiplegic limb, in addition to the bilateral use of the limbs, because in-game success is strongly linked to these two metrics,” notes Dr. Biddiss.