FEATURE
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Game Speed, a floor pad and screen that resembles DDR, though music is not a part of the game. Regardless, it has patients wondering, "Am I playing Dance Dance Revolution?"
Game Speed is being used as a rehabilitation tool to gradually get injured athletes back into shape, OrthoKansas physical therapist Randy Freivogel says. Patients enter their name, age, and degree of difficulty based on their injury. The game tests patients on their speed, agility, strength and power. Playing time is determined by the patient's level of difficulty, their surgery, and their amount of time spent in rehab. Patients jump from side to side, up and down, but a designated "relax time" is included in all the sessions.
Competition is another benefit to playing an exergame, Freivogel says.
"Students come in for rehab and the Game Speed tracks and records performance based on what activity they are being tested on," Freivogel says. "You can see how competitive people can get by playing a type of exergame as part of their rehab, thus pushing their performance."
After about four weeks of rehabilitation on the Game Speed, patients typically are ready to get back on the field. track or court, Freivogel says.
Whether these exergames are used to heal, lose weight or have fun, there is growing evidence that regular exergame use helps people stay fit and manage their weight. The state of West Virginia, in hopes of battling its high obesity rate, has signed a partnership with game publisher and DDR creator Konami to install DDR machines in the public schooling system. According to a Mayo Clinic study, West Virginia has some of the highest obesity and diabetes rates in the country. DDR arcade machines have been installed in most of its 765 public schools, where they are now being used during physical education classes, recesses, and lunchtimes in many school districts around the United States.
This past spring, the University began offering a DDR class in the Kansas Union's Jaybowl as an alternative to a traditional workout class. Instructor Susan Hoffman's once-a-week class is helping students develop a positive attitude
toward working out because it's fun and competitive.
The class has about 20 students, ranging from men on the basketball team to students just wanting to get non-traditional, fun workouts in.
DDR "expert" Chris Harris heard about the DDR class at his freshman orientation when someone said it was actually a good workout.
"You can't slow down or else you'll fail the game," Harris says. "It's not like a sport where you can take a quick break."
Harris says that he gets a better workout doing DDR than he did running track and cross-country in high school.
The class forces me to jump on the pad. I'm weirdly nervous and begin sweating even before I select my song and "easy" difficulty. There are hundreds of songs to choose from, and I pick a motivating song, "Stayin' Alive." Soon I am echoing the song's "Ah Ah Ah Ah" chorus, but not because I want to sing along. I am feeling the burn. Bop here, bop there, jump up and step back. I keep seeing "miss" on the screen and continue to hear "boo" from the speakers. My feet seem to automatically go on the wrong arrows, which is reflected in my low score. I can feel all these DDR masters eying me at my sides, giving me pity claps and cheers. The game finally winds down. I am out of breath and
sweating. My legs hurt, and all I can think of is how much that game kicked my ass.
August 20,2009
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