The GameCycle. So Much More than Just Upper Body Exercise.
Get the excitement of playing Nintendo GameCube racing games while getting a great upper body workout!
- Speed is controlled by turning the arm cranks, and steering is controlled by tilting the cranks left and right.
- Adjustable resistance, hand grips, and height settings lets you customize your workout!
- Below you can also see the sleek new look of the GameCycle. With the new look, the GameCycle now also features:
A user-friendly touch screen interface
- Cranking can be easily set to be in-line (non-reciprocal) or not in-line (reciprocal)
- Crank lengths that can be quickly adjusted to match the needs of the user
- A side to side tilt feature for steering (for gameplay) that can be turned off to mimic a standard arm-ergometer
- Height of the GameCycle can now be adjusted so the person can be sitting or standing
- The GameCycle was recently named a “Best Pick” in Mobility Management’s May, 2011 cover story “ATP/Clinician Best Picks in Seating & Mobility Technology.”
To see the GameCycle in action see videos on this page.
Neuro Rehab Benefits
Because GameCycle users match upper extremity movement to visual feedback from the videogame and because both arms must work in unison to control the game, there are a variety of neuromuscular reeducation and neuro rehab benefits including:
Addressing Strength Asymmetries
- Bilateral Integration
- Visual-Motor Integration
- Coordination and Balance
- To learn more about patient benefits, click here. Or read more in a Shriners Hospital for Children (PA) Newsletter.
Therapeutic Exercise Benefits
When exercise becomes as addictive as gaming, the benefits are comprehensive:
- Better Endurance/Cardiovascular Fitness
- Strength Training
- Improved Range of Motion
- Increased Core Stability
These benefits result in improved functioning in activities of daily living, increased self-esteem, and improved rehabilitation outcomes. And, your patients are having fun at the same time.
Improved Compliance
Having some fun during rehab and while you exercise means you will exercise more. The gaming challenge of the GameCycle encourages exercise and facilitates adherence to rehabilitation and exercise regimens in the clinic or at home. To read more about this see article about the GameCycle in Advance Magazine.
End-User Populations
The GameCycle is used by children, adults, and seniors. In the clinic, the GameCycle is used by people who have experienced stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and other neurological disorders or diseases of the spine.
Why the GameCycle?
The development of the GameCycle was funded by two grants from the National Institutes of Health. Why? Because there is a clear demand for an environment in which everyone -- people of all abilities -- are able and motivated to exercise. The GameCycle meets that demand by putting the fun back in fitness.
Patient Benefits
In addition to providing patients with an engaging exercise outlet, the GameCycle is also used in clinical settings to promote a variety of skills and desired outcomes including:
- Endurance
- Strength Training
- Range of Motion
- Flexibility
- Balance
- Core Stability
- Coordination
- Propioception
While playing the GameCycle promotes all the above skills, emphasis on one skill or another can be easily shifted by:
- Taking advantage of the GameCycle's adjustable features. For instance, increased resistance levels are consistent with an emphasis on strength training. Or choosing a more challenging course in the videogame is consistent with an emphasis on improved coordination.
- Changing the environment in which the GameCycle is being played. For instance, therapists interested in emphasizing balance and core stability have their patients play the GameCycle while sitting on a therapy ball.
Importantly, clinical use of the GameCycle for these purposes is reimbursed under existing CPT codes:
Research on the GameCycle has been presented at scientific conferences and has been published in several scientific journals. Of particular significance are two articles in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine in 2004 and 2006. These published studies provide compelling evidence of the important benefits gained from the way in which the GameCycle combines upper-body exercise with gaming.
Research Evidence of GameCycle Benefits
Three Rivers' research and development of the GameCycle has been supported by two grants from the National Institutes of Health (SBIR Grants #R41HD39535-01 and #R44HD39535-02A1). Also, researchers at the University of California Davis and Shriners Hospital for Children in Northern California have conducted grant-funded research on the GameCycle (Grant 8600 from Shriners Hospital for Children). The results of these research efforts have provided compelling evidence of the important benefits gained from the way in which the GameCycle combines upper-body exercise with gaming.
GameCycle research has been presented at scientific conferences and has been published in several scientific journals. Of particular significance are two articles in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, one by Shirley Fitzgerald and her colleagues published in 2004, and one by Lana Widman and her colleagues published in 2006.
You Don't Feel Like You're Exercising When You Are Having Fun!
Fitzgerald and her colleagues (2004) compared exercising with an arm ergometer (without a videogame) to exercising with the GameCycle (arm ergometer with videogame). Fitzgerald found that although metabolic data indicated that more calories were being expended while using the GameCycle (compared with the standard arm ergometer), research participants did not perceive greater exertion. In other words, participants were exercising harder with the GameCycle, but did not feel it or realize it.
Encouraging Exercise and Getting the Benefits
Widman and her colleagues (2006) examined the impact of regular exercise with the GameCycle among adolescents with mobility impairments due to spina bifida. Eight participants used the GameCycle over a 16-week period. Widman's findings supported the effectiveness of the GameCycle in encouraging exercise and providing health benefits:
87% of participants increased their maximum exercise capability after training with the GameCycle for 16 weeks (3 exercise sessions a week)
87% agreed that the GameCycle was physically challenging, enjoyable, and comfortable to use
Regarding exercise compliance, participants also agreed that the GameCycle would motivate them to exercise longer (75%) and more often (62%)
Taken together, the two studies summarized here clearly indicate that the gaming challenge of the GameCycle encourages exercise and facilitates adherence to rehabilitation and exercise regimens in the clinic or at home.
References for the two GameCycle-related research articles summarized above:
Fitzgerald SG, Cooper RA, Thorman T, Cooper R, Guo S, Boninger ML. The GAME(Cycle) exercise system: comparison with standard ergometry. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2004; 27: 453–459.
Widman LM, McDonald CM, Abresch RT. Effectiveness of an Upper Extremity Exercise Device Integrated With Computer Gaming for Aerobic Training in Adolescents With Spinal Cord Dysfunction. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2006; 29: 363-370.
The Importance of Upper Body Exercise
There is also research evidence that underscores the importance, in general, of upper body exercise. Yet, despite this evidence, there is also widespread agreement that the creation of outlets for upper body exercise has been neglected. Here is an article that emphasizes both these points:
Upper Body Exercise: The Most Under Used Aerobic Activity. Joseph M. Warpeha, MA, CSCS, NSCA-CPT