Intra-rater reproducibility and validity of Nintendo Wii Balance Tests in community-dwelling Older Adults

The aims of the current study were to examine the intrarater intersession reproducibility of the Nintendo Wii agility and stillness tests and explore the concurrent validity in relation to gold-standard force-plate analysis. Within-day intersession reproducibility was examined in 30 older adults (age 71.8 ± 5.1 yr). No systematic test-retest differences were found for the Wii stillness test; however, the Wii agility test scores differed systematically between test sessions (p < .05). The Wii stillness test yielded a test-retest ICC of .86 (95% CI 0.74-0.93), CV of 6.4%, LOA of 11.0, and LOA% of 17.9%. Likewise for the Wii agility test ICC was .73 (95% CI 0.50-0.86), CV 5.3%, LOA 1.8, and LOA% of 14.6%. Wii stillness scores correlated to force plate measures (r = .65-.82, p < .01), reflecting moderate to excellent validity. In conclusion, it appears that the Wii stillness test represents a low-cost, objective, reproducible, and valid test of undisturbed postural balance in community-dwelling older adults.