A UK charity is claiming that Nintendo Wii can help victims of brain damage to speedier recovery, according to a report in The Sun newspaper today.

Headway is a UK charity dedicated to improving life for victims of brain damage. Today a spokesperson for Headway, Jean Robinson, told The Sun that “Brain-injury victims have trouble with all sorts of things, such as hand-eye coordination, concentration and attention span. The Wii seems to improve all of them.”

Apparently the trick is encouraging both sides of the brain to coordinate during therapy, and this is achieved by activities that involve crossing hands across the body. Although not uniquely suitable for the purpose, Wii Sports has been cited as ideal – a 38-year-old man has recently shown signs of improvement, regaining his ability to grip with his hands after ‘playing’ Wii Sports extensively.

Headway says that the organisation bought its Wii to encourage younger patients, but clearly it has a positive effect on folks that are older. Assuming you’ve the capacity to wield a Wii remote and Nunchuck to play Wii Sports, we might all benefit in some way from all this. Hey, Nintendo?