Use of Game Console for Rehabilitation of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) predisposes to falls due to postural instability and decreased coordination. Postural and coordination exercises could ameliorate the incoordination and decrease falls.

In this study, we explored the efficiency of a game console as an adjunct to an exercise program in treating incoordination in patients with PD.

Case-control study.

In this single-blind, prospective clinical trial, rehabilitation with the Xbox (Microsoft; Washington, USA) game console was used as an adjunct to a standard rehabilitation program. Thirty-three patients with PD at stages 1-3 were enrolled in the study. All patients received the three-times weekly exercise program and electrotherapy to back and hip extensors for 5 weeks. Study patients played catch the ball and obstacle games on the Xbox in addition to the standard exercise program. Patients were evaluated based on the scores from the Timed Up-and-Go Test, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-II (UPDRS-II). Post-treatment scores were compared between groups.

Thirty-three patients were enrolled in the study (15 in the game-console group, and 18 controls). Patients in both groups had improvements in all scores. The end-of-treatment scores were significantly better in the study group compared to the control group in all parameters: UPDRS (10±5 versus 16±6, p=0.002), BBS (53±4 versus 47±8, p=0.004), and TUG (11±4 seconds versus 20±8 seconds, p<0.001).

Game-exercise with a game-console was noted to be a significant adjunct to the rehabilitation program in patients with PD in this study.