The Wii balance board accessory can help reduce the risk of accidental falls in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). New research, which was published online in the journal Radiology, shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans indicated that using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board system seems to lead to favorable changes among brain connections linked to balance and movement.

Balance impairment is one of the most notable and disabling MS symptoms. MS is a disease of the central nervous system where the body’s immune system attacks the protective sheath around nerve fibers. Physical rehabilitation is commonly used to help preserve balance. The Wii Balance Board System is one of the more promising new tools for this purpose. Individuals using the balance board stand on it and shift their weight in response to action on a TV screen during games such as slalom skiing.

Despite its effectiveness in helping patients with MS, not much is known about the underlying physiological basis for improvements in balance.

For the study, researchers used diffusion tensor imaging, DTI, a non-conventional MRI technique, to examine changes in the brains of 27 patients with MS who participated in a 12-week intervention using Wii balance board-based visual feedback training. DTI enables detailed analysis of the white matter tracts that send nervous signals through the brain and body.

The study’s lead author, Luca Prosperini, MD, PhD, from Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, said in a statement, “The most important finding in this study is that a task-oriented and repetitive training aimed at managing a specific symptom is highly effective and induces brain plasticity.” He continued, “More specifically, the improvements promoted by the Wii balance board can reduce the risk of accidental falls in patients with MS, thereby reducing the risk of fall-related comorbidities like trauma and fractures.”

According to the National MS Society, MS is believed to affect more than 2.3 million people around the world. The cause is not known, but scientists believe that factors including genetics, gender, age, geography, and ethnic background play a role.