Can Playing Video Games Result in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The almost explosive popularity of the computer systems and video games in the modern day society has also led to a significant increase in the cases of carpal tunnel syndrome.
As the society grapples with a constant increase in cases of carpal tunnel syndrome and similar types of injuries in the younger generation, questions related to the possibility of some connection between video games and carpal tunnel syndrome, are finding great relevance nowadays. Although the general perception is that there is definitely some correlation between the two, and the kids who indulge in daily longer hours of video game playing have an increased risk of suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome compared to those who don’t, there is not enough scientific evidence to either deny or completely confirm this view. Some of the recently carried out studies in this regard have brought forth some unexpected as well as startling results.
Many such federal government funded studies indicate that there is no direct connection between office work and carpal tunnel syndrome, video games and carpal tunnel syndrome and computer use and carpal tunnel syndrome. While each one of these occupations or activities might have an adverse affect on the individual’s health, many pertinent studies carried out in recent times suggest that people who do long hours of computer work or play video games for many hours every day, have the same average percentage occurrence rate of carpal tunnel syndrome as all who don’t. The inferences drawn by such studies may not be the end of this argument, as a large number of people suffer from injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, with many of them occurring as a direct result of playing video games for long hours.
Despite the fact that carpal tunnel syndrome is found majorly in individuals who fall in the age bracket of thirty plus (some children have also been found to be afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome), it does not rule out its occurrence in younger generation. Injuries like bursitis and tendinitis, which are close cousins of carpal tunnel syndrome, are being diagnosed more and more commonly among young kids. Popularly known as Nintendo thumb or Nintendonitis by many parents, it is another kind of repetitive strain injury like carpal tunnel syndrome, which is caused as a result of extensive video game playing. Such health issues are not only caused by the home video games, but are also a direct result of playing portable video games such as Game Boy like systems, for long hours every day.
Doctors are of the opinion that sitting for long number of hours in the same
kind of body position and using the finger and thumb muscles again and again repetitively, is what results in pain and other types of functional health problems. Just as in the case of any physical activity, even though some amount of exercising is good, however if you employ the same muscle groups or muscles without providing enough exercise to their counterparts (to maintain balance), the end result is most likely going to be pain or some injury. Although a seven or eight-year-old child will never suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, regardless of the number of hours s/he plays video games, s/he might suffer from other related injuries, which will make him / her more vulnerable to carpal tunnel syndrome in the future. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with playing video games for long hours, as long as the individual takes regular breaks and avoids using wrists and hands in an awkward manner. In a nutshell, what is important is that you do not play video games or use computer continuously for many hours without changing your body position or taking a breather.
The extensive usage of computers and feather touch, flat keyboards facilitating high typing speeds have led to a sort of epidemic of injuries in people’s shoulders, arms and hands. The pointing devices such as trackballs and mice are equally to blame when it comes to carpal tunnel syndrome. The uninterrupted constant usage of videogame controls has the exactly same kind of effect. Regardless of whether the injury begins as carpal tunnel syndrome or not, any indulgence in non-stop video gaming for long hours every day is guaranteed to cause trouble and result in carpal tunnel syndrome sooner or later.
To conclude, although there is no concrete evidence of playing video games and carpal tunnel syndrome being directly related, medical experts throughout the world are of the opinion that it certainly exposes the individual to its occurrence.
In case you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, you can benefit from some simple tips that you can follow for as less as 5 minutes every day and get rid of carpal tunnel syndrome without any surgery or medical assistance. These tips can be accessed at carpaltunnel-tips.com. So go ahead and benefit from them now.