10 common gaming injuries

10 common gaming injuries

By Jeann Wong

Games are so addictive that we sometimes find ourselves playing for hours on end. We tend to ignore that tingling in our hands and the cramp in our fingers as we keep on telling ourselves, “one more kill”, “until the next save point” or “when I reach level 20!”

Listed below are ten common gaming injuries that might happen to us as gamers.

1. Stylus cramp

Anyone with a DS will be able to tell you about this - the ache in the hands from gripping the stylus for an extended amount of time. This usually happens with more intense games, which require lots of stylus movement, such as Elite Beat Agents and Trauma Centre. Who said touch screens were more ergonomic?

2. Joystick thumb

The limited thumb movement that occurs after an intense Call of Duty session. These controllers are usually designed to be comfortable when you hold them, but game developers sometimes rely on that joystick a little too much. Some can’t even move their thumb afterwards.

3. RSI

Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) is a soft tissue injury in your hand, wrist or arm, caused by repetitive actions. Usually becomes more painful with more of the same task. When using the computer, take a break every few hours and stretch. This may help prevent RSI from occurring.

4. Tripping over cables

Electronic equipment is usually accompanied by lots of cables. And taping down these cables and making sure they’re out of the way is a lot of effort that many of us don’t even bother with. It’s especially dangerous when playing Wii Sports - watch out for the Face Plant of Death!

5. Getting hit by the Wii remote

We’ve all heard the stories about the Wii-mote through the television and people getting head injuries caused by the remote. There’s a reason why Nintendo has that warning before every game to put the wrist strap on – it’s a small precaution to avoid this from happening.

6. Carpal Tunnel

One of the more painful conditions of gaming that takes months or even years to heal. Serious conditions of carpal tunnel may even require surgery to alleviate the pain. If you experience any numbness, tingling, or burning in your thumb or fingers, stop the activity immediately and see if it goes away over time.

7. Electrocution

When you have electronic equipment, electrocution is always an issue, especially when you start fiddling around with computer equipment before it cools down. Reaching into your open computer when you haven’t properly grounded it or when it’s still plugged in is a common cause of electrocution.

8. Gamer rage

Come on, any of us who have played online games can admit to raging at one point or another. Getting injured from gamer rage can result in hitting or kicking your table, computer, chair or other inanimate object so hard that it hurts – literally.

9. Nintendonitis (Tendinitis)

This is when you have an inflamed tendon in your wrist, hand, arm or thumb. I’ve actually had tendinitis myself and my hand hurt for about a month and I wasn’t able to game in that time. I knew something was wrong when my wrist kept on tingling after sessions of playing Plants vs Zombies. A visit to the physio helped to heal the pain – although it crops up every now and then even a year after it’s healed.

And last but not least:

10. World of Warcraft Malnutrition

I call it World of Warcraft malnutrition, but it can actually happen with any sort of addictive game where you play for so long that you forget to eat or drink anything. Apparently people have even died from playing World of Warcraft for so long nonstop that they neglect to sleep, eat, or even go to the toilet. It sounds funny but is sadly the dark side of game addiction.