Slashdot Mirror
Videogame Injuries - The Ugly Truth
Thanks to the BBC for their article discussing the problems of injuries sustained while playing videogames. The author discusses the "definite physical element" to some gaming, commenting in relation to F-Zero GX: "Those [real-life] finger tendons and neck muscles can suffer when your game of choice involves efforts to overtake a craft travelling at 1,400kph." He also discusses stranger problems: "Possibly the most bizarre games-related condition that has been reported is Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (Havs), something previously recognised in operators of jackhammers, but now increasingly associated with joypad vibration." What terrible injuries related to gaming have you sustained?
after coding 8 hrs a day, then coming home and gaming for a good 2-4 hrs my hands really hurt most of the time. shoudl probably game less... YA RIGHT! :>
small flowers crack concrete
This article has been up for a full 35 seconds, and there has yet to be a comment about hentai gaming.
Karma: Excellent (fuck, even in the future moderation doesn't work!)
"Those [real-life] finger tendons and neck muscles can suffer when your game of choice involves efforts to overtake a craft travelling at 1,400kph."
because we all know the speed number on the screen has such a huge influence on how much stress we put on our hands
We've secretly replaced Slashdot with new Folgers Crystals - let's see if it notices.
If you used to play NES games with the official controller, you know what I'm talking about. The unergonomic design of the original controller caused blisters for many an old-school gamer.
Back when I sometimes played on the Nintendo 64, Mario Party was a real pain in the hand. Literally. I was starting to get blisters when I realized I was using the control stick wrong.
It's funny how I was just wondering this, and then it was posted on slashdot. I bought the new Tony Hawk today, and went pretty crazy and played it for about 8 hours, and my thumbs hurt like crazy. I'm developing a blister on my left thumb.
Damn, I'm a nerd.
All I know is that I've had to turn off the vibration function for every game I own since about a year ago, because without that, after a few minutes of play my hands will hurt like hell. Makes it a real pain for some games where the vibration is an important component (Silent Hill 3, Mario Party 4), but most of the time, vibration doesn't impove the gameplay any, so I'm generally not missing a lot.
I sure pulled something playing DOA volleyball a couple of times. Some of those bathing suits really made my eyes pop out too.
I once got my head cut off by one of those giant pink walking warthog things in Doom.
Oh. wait. You're talking actual injuries here? Oh, sorry.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I definitely think that the largest physical harm from video games is done to your eyes. I know that looking at computer monitors set at 60hz definitely can cause some eye strain, and in my case, even some vision problems. I can't say that 100% of my bad eyesight has come from computer monitors and tv screens, but I feel it definitely has had a negative impact on my vision. I'm at the point now where many types of contacts are not available to me because of the strength of my perscription. Bad vision runs in my family, but nobody's is as bad as mine. Since I have started using 85hz or more on my monitors, I have noticed my eyesight has stopped getting worse, and I don't get headaches from those 12 hour gaming sessions. Am I the only one who has noticed that refresh rates have a large impact on eye strain?
...I am still single. I don't know if this can be direclty related to gaming or not. Does anyone else experience this side affect?
- Joe
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
"Quake Claims 500 Hours"
SAN FRANCISCO--Rescue workers are still searching frantically for any signs of unwasted time in the wreckage of high-school student Jeremy Fanshaw's life, following a devastating Quake game that claimed an estimated 500 hours of his time. "Ordinarily, a game of this magnitude would destroy 40 to 50 hours," Red Cross worker Linda Wallis-Hupford said. "But, tragically, Jeremy went back to play the game from the beginning, then he started playing at harder and harder skill levels, and, eventually, he downloaded software that let him create his own levels and skins." As rescue efforts continue, experts are warning of a possible Quake II disaster that could last even longer, with more stunning graphics.
taken from The Onion
It's called being a Slashdotter. ;-)
Abstinence :'(
Ahh the pains of being a gamer
Error 407 - No creative sig found
First off, wtf is "knackered"?
But more to the point, I have this problem:
Another alleged problem for gamers is over-development of muscles in the arm...
My mouse forearm is slightly more developed than my other arm from playing CS, and my hand is getting bigger. It wouldn't matter to much, but I'm female so my arms are pretty small. It's mostly only noticable to me, but still...
Can I bum a sig?
I have experienced a high amount of wrist pain that comes with using a computer mouse along with computer game and work.
Where the Music Matters
at least, that's why i call it.
:)
i play any game on a paddle for more than an hour and my thumbs start giving out. that's why i prefer the mouse/keyboard combo over joysticks/joypads/paddles. at least with a keyboard i don't use my thumbs for much other than the space bar.
grey wolf
LET FORTRAN DIE!
Never mind fingers, eyes, or arms my ego is seemingly destroyed after every new game purchase.
I picked up a second hand copy of Jedi Starfighter and have been playing that for a couple of weeks and I am feeling pretty good. My ten year old nephew comes over and utterly embarrasses me in the very first head to head battle we play. He, of course, has never played the game before and made it look like I needed video game special ed.
I am back to Tetris for a while to heal my ego.
You can't mention the maladies provided by video games without mentioning the numerous physical benefits that they provide:
1) Calluses. Nice, thick calluses provide an insulation from the various pains of daily life. With such amazing home remedies as Gran Turismo 3, Mark of the Wolves, and, for the truly hardcore, that goddamned stupid analog stick on the Nintendo 64 controller, you can develop the sort of calluses that make seamstresses and lobstermen fell inadequate and immasculated.
2) Survival. If the dead ever rise from their graves, let's face it folks, the average man is fucked six ways from Sunday. He'll be snackfood in fifty-nine minutes shy of an hour. But not you, mighty gamer. You'll know exactly what to do. If there's a gun shop, you'll loot it. If there's a window, you'll avoid it. If something looks like it has a pair of impossibly silky, sexy legs, you'll run like a scared little girl because you know exactly what's above that hideous, evil beast's waistline. And if you happen to encounter a diminutive young medic on a train bound for Hell, you'll know exactly how she can help you: by being a pretty little pack mule to hold your crap for you.
3) Puzzle solving. Yeah, okay, so Bob down at the office can build an entire IT infrastructure in under two hours and Robert's just fucking MacGuyver (which comes in handy if you need MacGuyver's phone number, I guess), but you know REAL problem solving. If someone needs to arrange some blocks, you're Johnny On The Spot. And if someone says to you, "Hey, do you know which arcane artifact of ancient power this one-of-a-kind shiny magical crystal fits into?", you'll know exactly which one it fits in: the one that's the same shape. That's just the sort of awesome problem solving knowledge and skill that you bring to the team. They might not see your value today, but after someone decides to put a new lock on the bathroom door that only unlocks when you've pressed the corresponding color-coded switch on the other side of the building, you'll really start to shine.
And finally...
4) Advanced Military Tactics. ZERG RUSH KEKEKEKEKE.
Definitly neckstrain, i've never had any hand or wrist problems associated with gaming, but i've hurt my neck before when picking up a new game. Back in the early days of decent 3d games i remember always freaking out and trying to look around, or turning my head with whatever i was piloting and really straining my neck. My earliest memory of this was in 5th grade at my friends house playing Mechwarrior II and then GBL. That was bad, but Descent was worse, i couldn't play that without flipping my head around like i was having spasms. Another game i remember this with, to a lesser extent was Terminal Velocity. It was never problem for me with FPSs though. I havn't noticed it in years, so maybe its just a n00b g4m3r problem.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I've not experienced this myself, but apparently there is a trend for kids to refuse to go to the toilet because they are playing games obsessively and this can cause serious medical problems in chronic cases. Think chronic poo backup.
Can't seem to locate any resources, so maybe its an urban myth.
All things in moderation; including moderation
Do yourself a favor and grab SSX 3 - Similar gaming goodness, but snowboarding is currently in season :)
occasion back pain when I sloutch over the desk/in front of the TV.
Where is the puroblem except that this game rules AND is from Nintendo?
:)
Sounds all like a made up story for PS2 and XBox owners
seriously, after work on a Friday i started playing Gran Turismo 3 and decided i was gonna get 100% by the end of the weekend, thus requiring that i not sleep... at all. Sadly, i only made it to about 75%, but while walking to work Monday morning i kinda passed out and walked onto the street, its a good thing the driver slowed down cuz it only knocked me off my feet and gave me a slight concussion from my head hitting the pavement, plus i got 3 payed days off work.
but nonetheless, the injury was Gaming related in a way
/. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
System Shock caused my right (mousing) forearm to swell and lock solid for a whole day ( I only played for 14 hours straight ....) come to think of it my neck didn't turn much either ....
...............
now my right forearm gets sore after excessive driving or mousing for a hour or so......
Must be time to change the mouse to the left for 6 months again, shame that will play heck with counterstrike
Type unto others as you would have them type unto you.
I have found over the years that I get severe pains in the area of my right hand furthest from the thumb when I play heavily mouse based games. I came to the conclusion that the mouse simply wasnt big enough to support my hand across its entire width as I have quite large hands. I solved the problem by sticking two mice together side by side with double sided sticky pads.
If they can make pointing devices for people with small hands you'd think they could make them for people with big hands but there you go.
Oxford Dictionaries Online
I hurt myself really badly playing Daikatana. Everytime i started it seemed to make my breathing come in short loud gasps, my sides would really ache, tears would roll down my face and my mouth muscles tensed up. No other game has managed to do this with any consistency. Thanks John Romero..... the King of Comedy
Daily 2+ hour sessions can do wonders for your skills, but also can strain muscles in your feet. I got an injury once that kept me off the game for about a week.
dain bramage...
-- Linux: Stays crunchy even in milk! --
I might be getting old (almost 30) but I find my hands feel it after gaming sessions now...actually, usually in my wrists, Especially if I'm using my usual tough button mashing style in like Soul Calibur 2.
Also, the new PS2 Dual Shock 2 is awful, since it has all these analog buttons that don't have satisfying feedback, so I always feel I have to press harder (in say, GTA:VC where it's the accelerator...)
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
There I was, finally going after boswer in Super mario 3. I fly in from the secret entrance at top and start my racoon tail assisted descent. Suddenly, my NES locks up and the screen goes whack. My rage was uncontrolled. I decide to try out my shinobi skills and throw an atomic karate chop. My target of choice was my right knee. Those physiscists amongst you will better be able to describe what happens when a large force is applied to a small metacarpal, but the end reslt was 6 months of a cast and no video games. FU%$&NG BOWSER!!! I never did finish.
People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.
The most terrible injury I have sustained from game playing is not being around girls(women) for several years. Luckily, I was able to realise what danger game playing trully is and put a stop to my activities. It was hard at first, but I must say that I have made a firm recovery. I do not look back except to say "whew, that was close!"
I used to get a sore spot in the middle of my palm from holding those oh-so-ergonomic Atari joysticks.
Also, I used to have really bad keyboard posture when playing Doom: the keyboard on the edge of the table, my palms against the edge, and my fingers on the ctrl-alt and arrow keys. Not good for the ol' wrists and fore-arms.
Many of my friends seem to be mysteriously experiencing a severe trauma to the head after beating me in multiplayer games. I can't imagine what's causing it, but on an unrelated note I've gotten very good at using controllers as projectiles.
After playing F-Zero GX for 8 hours straight several days in a row, I guess I didn't blink enough, and for a good work week, I had sore, red eyes, and it hurt to look at things. Eye drops helped a bit, but nothing really cleared them up except a lot of sleep.
I'm sure there are some people that have gotten hernia's from doing the 1-hand keyboard shuffle while viewing some hentai game's.
f-zero gx is the only game that in my gaming career ever caused me RSI problems: I've stopped playing it 3 weeks ago (played it only for a week or so) and my left thumb STILL hurts when I do certain movements.
I do believe it's due to the design of the GC controller: my hands are fine on the xbox (played KOTOR & halo before F-zero GX with no issues) and the ps2 ones (tons of miami vice and now ssx 3), but the GC is way too small for them and I guess that's what causing the problem (I do have fairly sizeable hands, the original xbox controller was probably the perfect size, but even the new S ones seem to be fairly well designed).
The GC controller seems to have been created with an 8 year old's hands in mind or something, I've ordered a ps2-gc adapter (to use my ps2 controller on the gc, I'd have preferred an xbox-gc one but I couldn't find any) and we'll see how it goes...
-- the cake is a lie
Anyone who's EVER played street fighter for more than an hour at a time on a joypad should know this one. Thats why the street fighter afficionados such as myself fork out for the expensive, but oh-so shiny joysticks for each and every console, to avoid getting a serious case of sore thumb. All hail the joystick!
"Everlasting peace will come to Earth when the last man kills the last but one." - Adolf Hitler
I thought I was the only one (though now that I think about it, it's not exactly original :) ) that called it that. There were times after playing NES/SNES/Dreamcast for 10 hours straight that my thumbs were flat for about a day afterwards. My dad I and I lovingly called it Nintendo thumb...the joys though definatelly outweighed the pains.
And it hurts every time.
... my g/f fell out of the chair while using the rez vibrator. Does that count?
I played the Batman game for the PS2. Does that count?
I used to encounter some wrist strain after long hours mousing around in CS or other FPS games...
Three things solved that:
1. I got a trackball(a very good one, the Kensington "Expert Mouse") and switch between the two devices regularly. Since I use a different hand for each one my strain is cut in half.
2. While I was at home my typical computing pose was to lie on my bed with the keyboard and mouse at the same level, which caused much elbow brusing after doing it for 8 hours or so. Now I'm at college and I actually sit in a chair like most people.
3. After starting on some regular weight training, I think I've built up my forearms/wrists enough so that mousing isn't difficult on them. I've heard studies say that it also improves the reflexes... (not sure about that one yet)
I also used to have some eyestrain, even with the monitor on 75hz. Now I have an LCD and I can stare at it all I like without ill effects. It's a huge benefit, and with this one at least, I've never encountered trouble with blurring while playing FPS games - by the time objects move fast enough to blur with this one, they're moving at only slightly below my own visual limits, so it's never been a problem.
1. too much of gaming 2. gf dumps you 3. ??? 4. insanity!!!! ;)
Which is what happens when you sit on your living room floor for too long and your ass goes to sleep. Worst thing is, you don't notice until you get up and sit on something else... very strange feeling.
Didn't use to happen when playing PC games, though. Sitting on a proper chair does not have the same effect. I blame gaming consoles.
I still notice it now, 20 years later.
Think carefully before choosing a game to become addicted to!
Last summer, I spent 3 straight days, slouched on the couch in a Jak and Daxter marathon session. The continual slouching put such a strain on my back that it resulted in a herniated disk that required an operation to fix. It got so bad that I couldn't walk.
i can testify to game injuries. i have played final fantasy 7 until my wrist physically hurt. i honestly think that game controllers should be a little more ergo and less hurtful.
=^_^= P|-|33R |\/|3
I remember when my friends and I would play Street Fighter for hours on end. At the end of the day, I would have worn my thumbs down to blisters. All those quick combination moves to do a fire ball or spin kick did a number on my fingers.
Sig? No thanks, I don't smoke.
When we first got the Xbox I would sit on the edge of our couch to play Halo. Several times I experienced a rather unintended side-effect: I numbed my groin. I assume that pressure from the edge of the couch was pinching a vein or artery, like when your leg goes to sleep. In this case it wasn't something I would notice until getting up, but then there's this lack of sensation where you want there to be sensation. I'm just glad I didn't sit there until it had turned blue!