10 Weeks of NIntendo wIi Fit balanCe Training Improved Postural balANce and Muscle Strength in Elderly Individuals

On a yearly basis roughly 40.000 individuals aged 65+ contact the emergency departments in Denmark as a result of an accidental fall, and in about 30% of these cases hospitalization is required. The cost of these admissions vary according to the type of injury with hip fractures being the most expensive accident {{113 Chrischilles,E. 1994; }}. The total average cost of a severe hip fracture in the Danish healthcare system resulting in nursing home placement has been estimated to approximately 365.000 Danish Kroner (Dkk) per year {{288 Christensen,P.M. 2005;}}. In addition, about 20 % of the elderly individuals who sustain a hip fracture will die within 6 months {{200 Brot,C. 2006; }}. For the society the outcome of falling in the elderly population is therefore not only associated with severe human but also economical consequences. Hence, it is essential to refine, develop and think "out of the box" when future intervention programs are designed and employed in the elderly community. One such "out of the box" intervention could be balance training with a Nintendo Wii Fit board (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Co Ltd, Minami-ku Kyoto, Japan). The Nintendo Wii Fit board is a new generation of computer game which uses 3D tracking of the participants' motion and gestures. This means that the user interacts in and controls elements of the 3D gaming world with their own body {{307 LaViola,J.J.,Jr 2008;}}. In the case of the Wii Fit board, it detects the body sway and center of pressure (COP) of the participant and displays it onto a TV screen in different balance sceneries. A virtual character on the TV then reacts according to the user's movement and gesture (ex. skiing down a ski slope passing thru gates). This enables the user to perform tasks that, they may not be able to execute safely or at all in real-world situations. Interestingly in this context a study by Sihvonen et al from 2004 showed a compliance of 97,5% using the same technique as the Wii Fit only in 2D and with a