Wii Fit® training vs. Adapted Physical Activities: which one is the most appropriate to improve the balance of independent senior subjects? A randomized controlled study.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of three protocols (Adapted Physical Activities, Wii Fit(®), Adapted Physical Activities + Wii Fit(®)) on the balance of independent senior subjects.

Design: Case comparison study.

Settings: Healthy elderly subjects living in independent community dwellings.

Subjects: Thirty-six subjects, average age 75.09 ± 10.26 years, took part in this study, and were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental groups: G1 followed an Adapted Physical Activities training programme, while the second group (G2) participated in Wii Fit(®) training and the third one (G3) combined both methods. There was no training for the fourth group (G4). All subjects trained once a week (1 hour) for 20 weeks and were assessed before and after treatment.

Main Measures: The Tinetti test, unipedal tests and the Wii Fit(®) tests.

Results: After training, the scores in the Tinetti test decreased significantly (P < 0.05) for G1, G2 and G3 respectively in static conditions and for G1 and G3 in dynamic conditions. After training, the performance in the unipedal tests decreased significantly (P < 0.05) for G1 and G3. The position of the centre of gravity was modified significantly (P < 0.05) for G2 and G3.

Conclusion: After 20 training sessions, G1 (Adapted Physical Activities), G2 (Wii Fit(®)) and G3 (Adapted Physical Activities and Wii Fit(®)) improved their balance. In addition, G1 and G3 increased their dynamic balance. The findings suggest that Adapted Physical Activities training limits the decline in sensorial functions in the elderly.