Peek into a typical physical therapy room and you're likely to see patients engaged in a variety of mundane, repetitious tasks -- staring at the ceiling as they count out leg lifts, begrudgingly moving pegs from the bottom to the top of a peg board, shifting their weight tediously from one leg to the other.

But at a growing number of rehabilitation and senior living settings, physical therapy is beginning to take on a whole new look.

At Lake County Nursing and Rehabilitation in East Chicago, instead of mundanely hoisting dumbbells to keep up his upper body strength, a man without legs throws jabs at his animated opponent on Nintendo's Wii video game system.

Thanks to the game's unique motion-detecting technology, players ditch the traditional sedentary video game joystick and physically interact with the game instead.

While it may appear at first that this former boxer is merely passing the time with an activity he enjoys, Maria Dava, director of rehabilitation, says it is an exercise purposely incorporated into his therapy regimen, one that gives him better results because it keeps him fully engaged in therapy, helping him achieve his maximum potential.

At Rehab Connections in Homer Glen, Ill., a patient will walk the tightrope or compete in the ski slalom on the Wii Fit game, a much more fun way to practice bearing weight after knee surgery than laboriously counting out 20 repetitions of shifting back and forth.

Currently, the Wii is sending shock waves through the assisted living recreational areas at St. Anthony Homein Crown Point, enhancing the social lives of the residents and more, perhaps unbeknownst to them.

"They might not know it, but it's strengthening, it's stretching, it coordination, all in one," says Arliza Bernal, director of therapy.

While St. Anthony is only using the Wii recreationally right now, Bernal says she would embrace the idea of using it therapeutically.

Experts say the Wii has great potential in therapy settings for a number of reasons. Not only does it have patients looking forward to their routines, it also helps therapists set goals and track their patients' progress more effectively.

Sheryl Poremba, owner and director of Rehab Connections, an education and training center and physical therapy clinic in Homer Glen and Mokena, Ill., says the Wii is simply another prop that therapists can use, no different than a bike or ball, but its potential benefits are huge. Perhaps most significant from the therapist's point of view, she says, is the ability to demonstrate measurable functional improvement.

"We can measure it. We can compare it session to session. We can set a goal of what they should be able to get to. The more you use it the more you get an idea of what is realistic for people," she says.

And, because of the Wii's instant feedback, it helps patients correct their form on an exercise.

" . . . you can push on them, you can tap them, you can tell them to straighten this knee and shift this way, but when you are getting that kind of feedback, instantaneously, that makes a huge difference," Poremba says.

Poremba sees such promise in the new tool, she is offering a course in "Wii-Hab" for physical therapists. The first course at the Homer Glen location is Jan. 30, with others to follow May 9 and Sept. 24.

In the course, she intends to help therapists come up with ways to use the Wii in their own settings by playing the game themselves. By taping a joint to immobilize them, placing a marble in their shoe, and other creative ways to simulate their patients' ailments, the therapists will see how certain activities on the Wii can have patients moving their bodies in the same way their therapy might require, thus allowing for an effective, measurable, and more fun, substitute.

Joan Welch, therapy program manager at Sebos Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hobart, says the therapy department uses the Wii largely as a "last stepping stone prior to discharge." They use it as a new tool to gauge a patient's strength, balance and coordination

"When we feel they've gotten to a point where they are going to be safe to go home, I think that's where the Wii ... it's like another step where we can find out if they are independent to do certain things. ... It gives us a clearer picture of what the patient is capable of doing," Welch says.

Physical therapists interested in learning more about Poremba's course in "Wii-Hab" can call Rehab Connections at (708) 301-3571 or visit rehabconnections.com.