GameCycle - Rehabilitation meets GameBoy

Many patients affected by spinal cord injury are young adults, having been injured in a car or sports related accident. Typically, they are comfortable with video gaming and enjoy the familiarity of the action.

Capturing the interest and motivation of those patients to ensure that they make the most progress from their rehabilitation program is often a challenge for their therapy team. Enter the GameCycleâ, a unique therapeutic tool developed by researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health, that is helping patients with spinal cord injuries to have fun as they work hard to get better.

The GameCycle combines the benefits of an upper body strengthening exercise with the fun and competitive aspects of high-tech video games. A hand cycle is connected with a Nintendo GameBoy cube, and patients control the racing cars with the hand cycle. They crank to increase their speed, to steer, and to brake, using hand controls. The devices are fully adjustable to accommodate patients’ wheelchairs and other special needs.

Therapists have found that with GameCycle, exercise can be as addictive as gaming. Using the GameCycle, patients improve their strength, cardiovascular health, brain function, and self esteem. For someone adjusting to life in a wheelchair, one of the greatest challenges is building their upper body strength and maintaining or improving their cardiovascular fitness, so the GameCycle can be a very useful piece of equipment. Helen Hayes therapists have found that both experienced and novice video gamers enjoy the GameCycle and benefit from its programs.  

For patients recovering from spinal cord injury who may face months of hard work and rehabilitation, the GameCycle is a fun and enjoyable therapy session. It keeps patients motivated and eager to participate in therapy. Innovative devices such as the GameCycle help ensure patients’ compliance with their rehabilitation routines, ultimately producing better patient outcomes.

Recently, some fierce competition has emerged among spinal cod injured patients at Helen Hayes Hospital. Most say that the GameCycle is fun, challenging, easy to use, and motivates them to exercise longer.