Context:​ Application of the Nintendo Wii-fit balance board and its games have been used in Physical Therapy clinics, showing success in individuals with neurological disorders, and has been recommended as a minimum baseline assessment of a symptoms checklist and standardized cognitive and balance assessments for concussion management by the NCAA. However, it still faces challenges of being considered a reliable and consistent tool for producing normative data in the allied healthcare. Because there is little to no evidence for the Wii-fit balance board as a valid balance assessment tool for clinical and/or research usage, the significance of this study is to provide substantial evidence of whether the Nintendo Wii-fit balance board can be used as a valid balance assessment tool.

Objective:​ The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Wii-fit balance board as an assessment tool for balance by comparing it to the Bertec balance check platform and Kistler force platform.

Design:​ Experimental Study

Setting:​ UNLV research laboratory

Patients or Other Participants:​ Twelve apparently healthy, male (n = 5) and female (n=7) subjects between the ages of 18 – 30 years (age = 23 ± 3 yrs.) weighing no more than 1468 N (mass = 69.9 ± 22.6 kg, height = 167.6 ± 3 cm).

Main Outcomes or Measure(s):​ Subjects completed five trials of the Nintendo Wii-fit game called the “Stillness Body Test” on each of the following instruments:​ Bertec balance check platform, Kistler force platform, and Nintendo Wii-fit balance board (WBB). Results from the tests were used to compare center of pressure (CoP) maximum excursion range relationships among the three instruments. Results:​ The results indicated that there was a significant CoP maximum excursion range positive relationship between the Bertec balance check platform and WBB in both the anterior-posterior (A/P) and medial-lateral (M/L) direction, suggesting measurement validity(r_A/P = 0.710, p_A/P= 0.010, r_M/L = 0.759, p_M/L = 0.004). However, there was only a significant positive relationship between the Kistler force platform and WBB in the medial-lateral direction (M/L) but not in the anterior-posterior (A/P) direction, suggesting comparative validity only in the medial-lateral direction (M/L) (r_A/P = 0.465, p_A/P= 0.128, r_M/L = 0.579, p_M/L = 0.049). Additional results indicated that the A/P CoP total excursion and total excursion velocity averages between the Kistler and Bertec were found to be significantly different (t_A/P = - 2.841, p_excursion = 0.016 t_A/P = - 2.964, p velocity = 0.013). However, the M/L CoP total excursion and total excursion velocity averages between the Kistler force platform and Bertec were not significantly different (t_M/L = - 1.754, p_excursion = 0.107 t_M/L = - 1.349, p velocity = 0.204).

Conclusions:​ The WBB was found to be a statistically valid tool for producing CoP maximum excursion range data relative to the Kistler force platform in the M/L direction, and in the A/P and M/L direction for the Bertec balance system. However, future research should examine its effectiveness as a rehabilitation tool for balance in the patient population, and continue to investigate a final conclusion on the reliability and concurrent validity of the WBB.