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GameCube (Games) Entertainment Games

Videogame Injuries - The Ugly Truth 113

Posted by simoniker from the impaled-on-kempston dept.
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?
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Videogame Injuries - The Ugly Truth More

Videogame Injuries - The Ugly Truth

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  • hentai (Score:5, Funny)

    by David_Bloom ( 578245 ) <slashdot@3lesson.org> on Saturday November 01, 2003 @11:36PM (#7369350) Homepage
    This article has been up for a full 35 seconds, and there has yet to be a comment about hentai gaming.

    • Re:hentai (Score:3, Funny)

      by Luigi30 ( 656867 )
      Can't forget Boon-Ga Boon-Ga. My hand gets tired shoving that thumb in there!
    • Hentai requires more "handwork" than other games:)

      Funny the article mentions vibration, and the symptoms seen in jackhammer operators. The only video game related ailment I've ever had was being made to feel violently nauseous by... Yep, a vibrating controller. Bought a nice dual shock for my PSX and have to have the vibration off in every game I play as it makes me feel extremely sick!

    • Re:hentai (Score:2, Funny)

      by t0ny ( 590331 )
      I dont care about video games unless they feature graphic depictions of tentacle rape.

      (this is what I generally post in anime threads, for those not in on the joke)

  • 1400kph? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Random832 ( 694525 ) on Saturday November 01, 2003 @11:39PM (#7369360)
    "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

  • Nintendo thumb (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sofakingl ( 690140 ) on Saturday November 01, 2003 @11:51PM (#7369419)
    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.

    • 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.

      You mean the rectangular joypad? I never had any problems except a sore thumb. I would say I mostly played Mario. Maybe I did not play it enough.

      • track'n'field.

        series of games that were worth gazillions of dollars to game controller manufacturers, including nintendo(tap tap tap tap tap tap).

        anyways, the rectangular pad bit into my hands at it's sharp corners as well(but it was a real thumb killer that's for sure)

    • Ooh yeah. My thumbs would get extremely sore after an evening of Gauntlet II... Gamecube controller certainly is improved.

  • Mario Party (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    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.
    • I was starting to get blisters when I realized I was using the control stick wrong.
      Hint: It's not called a "forehead stick" for good reasons.
    • Same thing happened to me - I got blisters on the palm of my hand, because rotating the stick was a bit faster that way. In the long run, the stick didn't hold up too well, either - the plastic around the base of the stick is all white and stretched from the strain. I think I even remember seeing a "health advisory" of sorts from Nintendo warning against this exact problem...

  • Weird (Score:2, Funny)

    by DumbWhiteGuy777 ( 654327 )
    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 also turn off vibration, but that's just because I find it annoying. It doesn't hurt, but in an RPG you don't need the controller to vibrate when you cast a spell. The novelty of vibration has worn off, at least for me.
      • I like vibration in games...especially when it makes me aware of when I get hit. I've gotten used to it, and it is just another (positive) part of most games.

        The only time I notice it, is when I put my controller down on the coffee table, and it starts to rattle.

  • I one got my head cut off (Score:3, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @12:05AM (#7369490)
    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.

  • Eyes (Score:4, Interesting)

    by eviljolly ( 411836 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @12:06AM (#7369491) Journal
    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?

    • Re:Eyes (Score:3, Interesting)

      by calebtucker ( 691882 )
      I can't stand to look at a 60hHz monitor for 10 sec. Heck, I can even see the flicker at 85Hz if I look at the screen with the corner of my eye. 100Hz is treating me well, though.

      I really do think sitting in front of a monitor has affected my vision. I have to wear glasses to drive now.. I can't see well at a distance, but I can see perfectly fine about 1-3 feet in front of me :)
      • God- 60hz is horrible. I agree- I can't look at that for more than a few seconds w/o wigging out.

        But- I've been playing games almost daily for about 25 years. My vision is still perfectly fine.

        My ass might have permanent couch contours- but my eyes are still 20/20.
      • i wonder if an LCD monitor would be better to look at all day? i don't believe the lamps flicker.

        of course, that does nothing to fix the 60Hz AC cycle of all the lights around you.
    • The only time I've ever had any vision problems from a monitor is when I had to use a broken eMachines monitor for two days. Everything on the screen was constantly twitching, so after looking at it for a while my left eye (which is also my dominant eye) would start twitching too. The eye twitching would last would usually last several hours. It sucked.
    • Am I the only one who has noticed that refresh rates have a large impact on eye strain? Almost certainly.

    • Re:Eyes (Score:3, Insightful)

      by MikShapi ( 681808 )
      Did you ever try comparing the money you pay your optometrist and the price for a monitor that can do 100Hz or higher at whatever resolution you like using?

      So many [quite-tech-savvy] people pay hundreds of dollars for CPU cycles they don't use or a twice-as-fast FSB, and yet a good 90% of them utterly neglect to buy hardware (like a good monitor for your eyes or a decent chair for your back) that has an adverse affect on their health. Needless to say, once they need treatment, they do pay that same money t
  • ...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?

  • Rez (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @12:22AM (#7369546) Homepage
    I can only imagine the physical injuries some people might get from playing Rez too much. Although the benefits might outweigh the injury.

    • hmm, I don't know about injuries, per se, but I think this girl [gamegirladvance.com] might have some good insight for you!

      • Re:Rez (Score:3, Funny)

        by psyco484 ( 555249 )
        I would personally like to thank you captain obvious. Without you pointing that out, I don't know if any of us would ever know what he was talking about. Once again, I'd just like to say, thank you, we are forever indebted to you.

  • Total Disaster... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dr. Bent ( 533421 ) <<ben> <at> <int.com>> on Sunday November 02, 2003 @12:28AM (#7369553) Homepage
    "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 [theonion.com]

  • My injury (Score:4, Funny)

    by agent dero ( 680753 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @01:26AM (#7369706) Homepage
    Abstinence :'(

    Ahh the pains of being a gamer
  • The worst strain to my body I experienced while gaming was the result of multiple attempts to defeat Ridley in Metroid Prime - my forefingers were knackered for days.

    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 m

    • First off, wtf is "knackered"?

      From observing it used a few times I believe it means injured. I think it is slang that Britons use.

      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...

      I would suggest some exercise that involves both arms. The worst gaming conditions I have had would be very stiff hands from playing too much Halo

      • I've thought about one of those hand developing gadgets--the kind you squeeze. It seems like that might work for both my hand and forearm, but I don't know what they are called, so I don't know how to shop for one. Also, for obvious reasons, I don't want to over do it.
    • First off, wtf is "knackered"?

      Brit here - it was a term that used to refer to horses many years ago when they were due to be put down. The place where horses were taken to die was called a "Knacker's Yard", and so when a horse was due for "retirement" it was said to be "ready for the knackers yard" which became shortened to "knackered".

      In modern colloquial english it is usually a reference to anything broken ("my car is knackered"), or tired when applied to a person ("I'm knackered", "Are you ok? You l
      • Thanks for the clear definition (and etymology). I got the gist of it from context, but wasn't clear if it meant injury, fatigue, or was actually a precise medical condition!
    • Fucking Americans. Knackered means tired, beat up
  • I have experienced a high amount of wrist pain that comes with using a computer mouse along with computer game and work.
    • I used to get pain in my right hand from mousing, also due to working with the mouse and gaming at night.

      So, I switched to using my left hand at work for the mouse, and switched back to the right hand for home-gaming.

      It took me a few weeks, but I was able to mouse with both hands without any problems after that. And now I am amberdextrous with the mouse, though I'm still more proficient with the right hand.
  • 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. :)

    • 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.

    • I don't know if it's quite what you mean, but I have really bad tendenitis in my left thumb now. Causes me to drop things sometimes cos it just gives out under strain, and it can pop nastily when playing guitar or gaming. I don't know what's caused it, since I used to use a PS controller loads in mammoth GT2 sessions, and it was fine, but it's not got any better in the last 6 or 7 months now. Might do if I let it be, and while I could survive without using a controller for a month or two (no Vice City... Ar

  • Shattered ego (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hamster Lover ( 558288 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @02:40AM (#7369942) Journal
    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.

  • Bah! (Score:5, Funny)

    by DarkZero ( 516460 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @02:49AM (#7369968)
    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.

    • 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 h

      • Most of them comes from the Resident Evil games. Gun shops (also featured in countless other games plus movies) are perfect to raid because they inevitably contain tons of shotgun shells and whatnot. Windows should be avoided because every game *inevitably* contains at least one scene where something comes crashing through them unto the unsuspecting persons in the hallway/room. The young medic is a reference for Rebecka Chambers (sp?) in Resident Evil 0. You have two characters, and can move items betwee
      • I'm ashamed to say i did not get a single one of these references... can someone explain them?

        Gun shops: Gun shops serve the same purpose in survival horror games like Resident Evil that they do in zombie movies. They're your armory. Your stronghold. The place that gives you what you need to kick ass and fight back.

        Windows: In survival horror games, especially Resident Evil, things have a habit of crashing through windows to attack you. Zombies, dogs, lizards-beasts, and even bosses all crash through win
  • 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 arou
  • 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.
    • After I took exlax and a suppository and I was still constipated, I never thought twice about taking a shit.
    • Sounds like a load of crap to me.
    • There is no medical problems to my knowledge. However, my friend has pissed his pants a few times because of gameplay. The one that sticks out in my mind is when we were playing Blitz 2000 and he was winning(we were playing tourny style, one who wins plays a challenger, if u quit u loose). He had to go to the bathroom but did not want to loose and after about a case of coke and 30 min later, he could not hold it anymore
  • occasion back pain when I sloutch over the desk/in front of the TV.

  • lack of sleep (Score:3, Interesting)

    by incubusnb ( 621572 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @05:07AM (#7370209) Homepage Journal
    i'd have to say that the only physical injury i've ever sustained through gaming would be getting hit by a car

    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

  • 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 ...............
  • 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 [dwarfism.org] you'd think they could make them for people with big hands but there you go
  • 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...
  • 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...)

  • broken hand (Score:4, Funny)

    by briancnorton ( 586947 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @10:32AM (#7370705) Homepage
    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.
  • 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!"
    • Isn't that the wrong approach, though, adapting to women's demands, giving up your own desires? Eventually you might wake up and find you wasted all your life not playing video games.
  • 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.
  • 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 size
  • 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!
  • Countless injuries to my pride.

    And it hurts every time.

    -Arnulf
  • I played the Batman game for the PS2. Does that count?

  • Solutions (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ReyTFox ( 676839 ) on Sunday November 02, 2003 @07:17PM (#7373862)
    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!!!! ;)
  • in the arcade back in 1983. Damn those 'spider' and 'block' screens, and the controller where you had to pull the trigger for each shot!

    I still notice it now, 20 years later.

    Think carefully before choosing a game to become addicted to!

  • 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.
  • 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.

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