November 6, 2025

@michaelokun

Can you level up your movement in Parkinson's by playing video games 'remotely?' Gamification refers to using game-like elements to motivate real-world behavior change, such as increasing your daily steps. Waddell, Morley and colleagues describe in a new research letter in JAMA Neurology how a remote and automated gamification program helped veterans living w/ Parkinson’s increase their daily steps. Key Points: - Physical activity is a powerful therapy for Parkinson’s. - Gamification may be one more creative tool to keep folks moving and motivated. - Gamification increased daily steps by more than 1200 during the intervention period. - Improvements persisted beyond the program w/ a sustained step increase during follow-up. - Remote design facilitated participation from rural veterans and it reduced staffing needs. My take: You may be surprised to learn the increasing number of papers showing video games and gamification can be used to treat disease. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- Gamification can help keep folks moving and motivated in their everyday life. 2- Small step increases add up over time and may support better mobility and quality of life. 3- Remote programs can expand access to exercise support. 4- Behavior change strategies frequently matter as much as the exercise plan itself. 5- This early work is promising, but of course we will need more trials to define the dose and also the type of gamification to prescribe. https://cutt.ly/ZtqrfOs5 #parkinson #gamification #michaelokun #fixelinstitute