Effects of a Nintendo Wii exercise program versus Tai Chi Chuan on standing balance in older adults: a preliminary study.
Valeska Gatica-Rojas, Ricardo Cartes-Velásquez, Maria Eliana Albornoz-Verdugo and 3 others
PMID 30774195WHAT IT FOUND
Neither Nintendo Wii nor Tai Chi was clearly better; both improved some standing balance scores in 12 older adults.
The sample was too small to change routine balance training.
Key findings
01Both Nintendo Wii balance-board exercises and Tai Chi improved several standing balance variables, but neither showed clear superiority.
02Twelve older adults took part, with seven assigned to Nintendo Wii and five to Tai Chi.
03Each group had 18 sessions over six weeks, with 25-minute Nintendo Wii sessions and 60-minute Tai Chi sessions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 12 older adults were described in the methods, and the results say 12 out of 15 completed, so participant flow is unclear. The authors said the main limitation was the reduced sample size. Participants were 65 to 75, had Mini Mental State Examination scores over 17, had no falls in the last 12 months, and vestibular impairment was excluded, so it may not apply to frailer people. The study used many balance conditions and did not show clear superiority, so it cannot guide choosing one programme over the other. There was no follow-up after the six-week intervention, so durability is unknown.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Nintendo Wii balance-board training is better than Tai Chi, or that either programme prevents falls. This was a small before-and-after study of 12 older adults, and the authors reported no clear superiority between the two.