7 Healthcast: Wii-itis

After just 20 minutes playing the Wii, Dan Jouver is feeling the effects.

"I feel like I used a couple of muscles I don't use too often," Jouver said.

With all that flicking, swinging, bending and twisting it takes to use the Wii's controller, doctors say they're seeing more and more patients complaining of aches and soreness.

The New England Journal of Medicine even has a name for it now, Wii-itis. Sort of like tendonitis or tennis elbow.

"Such as the rotator cuff muscles bring the arm back like that, or repetitive bowling or playing tennis," said occupational therapist Laura Gadberry.

Gadberry says the Wii also has benefits. Rehab facilities across the country have been adopting the game as an entertaining form of physical therapy.

"It's a good thing because people actually get off the couch and start exercising because they're having fun," Gadberry said.

And elderly people have made the Wii popular too. Playing virtual golf, tennis, or bowling. Keeping those muscles moving and those hearts pumping.

Overall a benefit, perhaps, even if some apparently go a "Wii" bit overboard.

Nintendo does have health and safety precautions regarding the Wii. One of them is to take a 10 or 15-minute break every hour, even if you don't think you need it.

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