Physical therapy can be brutal. If you’ve ever had to go through this, you know just how tough it can be. In college, I tore a tendon in my ankle and went through months of therapy to get back into sports. Rebuilding muscle and re-teaching my body to function like it once did was far more difficult than the hours I spent working out in normal practice.
Physical therapy doesn’t necessarily need to take place in a trainer’s gym, though.
Video games have been used by many seniors to help with therapy and to help improve overall fitness. The Nintendo Wii was one of the first gaming systems to use body motions to help with gameplay. Instead of pushing buttons and moving a joystick or control pad, many games on the Wii are played with body motions. There are even sports games and fitness games designed specifically to help improve mobility and get your heart rate up. These can be a great option for those that are confined to a wheelchair or don’t want to leave the house to stay active. Today, there are more options than ever before when it comes to games and fitness. You are certain to find one that meets your needs.
If you are planning on using video games to help assist with physical therapy, it is really important to speak with a professional first. Depending on what you are doing and what your goals are, it’s important to approach it correctly so that you aren’t compounding injuries and actually helping yourself. For those that haven’t exercised in a long time, talk with a doctor to make sure that you are healthy enough for this kind of activity and that you are taking controlled, small steps to help yourself improve fitness.
It doesn’t have to be just about exercise. Games can do a lot more than ever before. If you have younger kids in your life, they have more game power on their smartphones than those of us that grew up in the 80s could ever dream of. And while many of us were told repeatedly by our mothers to stop playing video games because they will “rot our brains,” this isn’t quite true. In fact, some of the more advanced strategy games can actually foster creativity and help spark cognitive activity. Games like Minecraft and Roblox also can also help with critical thinking skills and increase socialization through in-game chat features. These might seem like kid games, but they can bring a level of engagement, creativity, and improve brain activity in a way that many seniors will really benefit from.
If you have a gaming system that you don’t use, it might be worthwhile to introduce a loved one to some of the games that you have on it. They might not enjoy it, but you won’t know until you try. It might be the perfect way to get your loved one more active, stave off social isolation, and help increase creative thinking. Start small, and introduce other features as they become comfortable with what they are doing.
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