To investigate and compare the effectiveness of Nintendo Wii games and home exercises on balance functions in patients with osteoporosis, an important disease adversely affecting balance functions. The patients included in the study were randomized into two groups the Wii exercise group (n = 30) and the home exercise group (n = 30). Wii exercise group performed balance exercises with a Nintendo Wii device and balance board three times a week for 12 weeks under the supervision of a physiotherapist in the hospital, and home exercise group was prescribed home exercises three days a week for 12 weeks. Balance functions were evaluated with the timed up-and-go-test and Berg Balance Scale, and the fall risk was evaluated with the Falls Efficacy Scale at the beginning and end of 12 weeks of treatment. Comparison of pre- and post-treatment timed up-and-go-test, Berg Balance Scale, and Falls Efficacy Scale results in both groups revealed statistically significant improvements (p = 0.001; p < 0.05). Furthermore, post-treatment test scores between the two groups demonstrated a significant enhancement in Wii exercise group regarding the Berg Balance Scale score (Mean ± SD 52.9 ± 3.63) (p = 0.001; p < 0.05). Within the osteoporotic population, balance functions serve as robust predictors of fall risk. Improvement in balance functions is crucial for the prevention of falls and subsequent osteoporotic fractures. In our study, we found that balance exercises performed with Wii games are effective in improving balance functions in patients with osteoporosis.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) represents a neuropathic pain syndrome through the use of neuropathic pain scales. Patients and methods: The study included 99 female patients (mean age 44.21 years; range, 18 to 65 years) who referred to Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department Outpatient Clinics with complaints of widespread pain and who received a clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia based on the 1990 American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria and a control group consisting of 86 female patients (mean age 49.21 years; range, 18 to 65 years) who were diagnosed with acute subacromial impingement as a nociceptive pain model. All patients completed the Turkish version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck Depression Scale (BDS), the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale for pain assessment, the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) pain questionnaire for neuropathic pain assessment and the painDETECT scale. Results: An evaluation of the patients’ symptoms indicated that complaints of numbness, burning, tingling, morning stiffness, insomnia, fatigue and weakness were significantly more common in the fibromyalgia group compared to the controls. Moreover, the mean scores of the BDS, FIQ, painDETECT and LANSS pain scale were significantly higher in the fibromyalgia group compared to the controls. Statistically significant correlations were noted between FIQ values and LANSS, and the BDS and painDETECT results in the fibromyalgia group. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that sensorial symptoms such as paraesthesia, hyperalgesia and allodynia were more common and the scores of neuropathic pain scales such as painDETECT and LANSS were significantly elevated in the fibromyalgia patients compared to the control group, and these findings suggest that FMS may have a neuropathic pain component.