Cardio vascular exercise is good for your heart. Exercise is general is good for your health, your mood, your quality of life. A recent study by Dr. Luca Prosperini, a neurologist at Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, found that MS patients that use the Wii Fit balance board have been able to rewire their brains. Dr. Prosperini stated the study showed “improvements in myelin sheaths of nerves connecting areas of the brain involved in balance and movement. These improvements resulted in better nerve-signal transmission in these parts of the brain.” Click here to read the full article. There is also a video on YouTube you can view that gives you the overall outcome of the study. Dr. Karen Blitz, director of the North Shore-LIJ Multiple Sclerosis Care Center in East Meadow, New York, stated in the video, “I think this is a very important study for MS patients, because it showed scientifically that the brain can change in response to balance training. The balance training had specific effects on brain centers and white matter tracts. The findings also showed that these beneficial changes disappeared when the training stopped.”
I make sure to do some balance exercises in every class and every one-on-one program I do with my clients. I have clients that do the Wii Fit balance exercises regularly and say that it definitely makes a difference in their balance. Having better balance has a big effect on your daily life, especially here in New England during the icy winter months.
Holly Kouvo is a certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Specialist, speaker and writer who specializes in helping people lose hundreds of pounds. Learn more at www.FittingFitnessIn.com.