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Wii woes: Nintendo's gaming system being blamed for rash of injuries
> Have you ever been injured while playing Wii?
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Attention, gamers. Wii may have a problem.
Thumb injuries used to be the only physical harm spawned by video games. But since Nintendo revealed its Wii concept almost two years ago, it's hit more than the market. Try your little brother, your TV, your cat ...
Extras
Talk to enough Wii users and you're sure to hear a story or two about Wii-tastrophes. Muscle soreness, cuts, bruises, broken windows, television screens, furniture — sometimes even bones — are becoming increasingly common. The latest developments are even more telling of our society's virtual addiction: repetitive motion injuries from too much Wii-ing.
Dr. Julio Bonis of Spain coined the term "Wiiitis" to describe this affliction in a June 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine. Because players typically aren't exerting themselves aerobically, they can play the virtual versions of sports much longer than the real versions. This allows repetitive motion injuries to develop more easily.
There's even a Web site called devoted to Wii gone awry: www.wiihaveaproblem.com. Its creator, Jim Walsh, calls the site "a parody and not affiliated with Nintendo," and he invites Wii fans to post videos of their mishaps. Their claims are unsubstantiated, but there are many: images of cuts, broken lamps, black eyes — even an injured cat — chronicling the results of lost grips on remotes and collisions between humans and inanimate objects.
Anecdotal evidence of Wiiitis is slowly becoming supplemented by scientific evidence. In the March issue of the online journal Injury Extra, a report reviews the case of an 18-year-old girl who dislocated her knee while playing Wii tennis. According to the article, this type of injury is usually a result of athletic pursuits, thus the Wii is a physical activity requiring the same precautions as real sports.
Dr. Chris Danis, a hand surgeon at Miami Valley Hospital, has seen his share of Wii-related injuries. One patient, a male in his 50s, broke his finger after slamming it into a piece of furniture while playing with the Wii.
"He thought it was kind of funny, but he actually had to have surgery to get the bone back in position," says Danis.
It's a step up from the severe Nintendonitis (thumb tendonitis) Danis treated in a younger patient who came home from work and played traditional video games for hours on end. Treatment for this usually doesn't extend much further than rest and anti-inflammatories. The most severe cases can be treated with cortisone injections.
Weighing benefits vs. risks
Dr. Jeff Mikutis, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Medical Center of Dayton, has seen a few muscle strains and sprains due to Wii use, but thinks the benefits of being a more active video game outweigh the risks.
"Overall, I think it's good. Kids are sitting around doing nothing, and this allows them to be a little more athletic and actively participate ... like everything else like that, just be careful."
Danis feels it's an improvement from sedentary video games, but not by much.
"If you had your preference, it'd be to have kids not using any of the systems but actually going out and playing tennis or bowling," he says.
While it may not be the best-case scenario, a study in last month's British Medical Journal says that Wii users burn more calories using the system than they do on regular video games. Even more calories are burned when playing the real versions of sports.
But even active people are using the Wii and suffering. After playing Wii boxing with her sister during winter break, Ohio University varsity swimmer Kasey Tolbert had to sit out for two meets.
"There wasn't an initial 'Ow' or anything," says Tolbert. "But I came back to OU after New Year's and we had done 5,000 meters of practice ... and my right elbow started killing me."
Doctors determined that Tolbert had strained her right tricep just above the elbow. Biweekly physical therapy was necessary for three weeks and the recurring pain has lasted for more than a month. "Boxing isn't fun because of my problem, but bowling and golf are still really fun," she says. "I definitely don't want to go through that pain again. ... I would warn people about boxing and what it did to me."
Paul Stein of Beavercreek calls Wii boxing "brutal."
"It requires you to box with both hands, throwing jabs and knockout punches," says Stein, a 62-year-old retiree. "When you throw hard punches and hit only air, it feels like your shoulder is coming out of the socket."
Despite the risks, Stein and his wife have become die-hard Wii fans. In the fall, months before they bought their Wii, Stein had a frozen shoulder — he couldn't move his arm above his head. His doctor said surgery might be necessary, but physical therapy improved his range of motion significantly and he was able to stop treatments. But he wasn't as diligent at his at-home exercises and immobility began creeping up on him again.
"Once you're finished (with physical therapy), it's work, so I didn't do it at home," he says. "The Wii is a continuation of the physical therapy I was supposed to do when I was home ... it really has helped my problem shoulder."
Stein says he and his wife Wii bowl daily. It inspired the two to start doing the real thing, too.
"Nostalgia hit us and, after 40 years, we entered a real bowling alley. We now bowl six strings a week," he says. "We've gone from couch potatoes to seniors that exercise on a daily basis and we are feeling much better."
Wii makes physical therapy fun
The Steins' discovery is becoming a national phenomenon. Jim Osborn, who oversees rehabilitation services at Herrin Hospital in southern Illinois, says they use the Wii as a rehabilitation supplement.
"We were kicking around ways to upgrade the rehabilitation service here and it really came out of a brainstorming session with staff," says Osborn. "If you're a therapist, you kind of put two and two together."
Patients as old as 80 use, and love, the system three or four times a week to complement their regular physical therapy routines.
"PT stands for physical therapy, but it also stands for pain and torture," says Osborn. "What we do is try to find ways to engage the patient. I've had patients say that when they use the game they weren't even thinking about the pain."
He says one elderly woman was quite out of breath after a few minutes of Wii boxing, but wouldn't stop because she wanted to beat her score. Many seniors are buying the system for use in their homes.
The competitive nature of the games contributes not only to the Wii's risks, but also its benefits. Although not a replacement for physical therapy, Osborn thinks this is just the beginning of Wiihabilitation.
"I don't think Nintendo every really intended this," says Osborn. "But it is kind of nice that this technology can be used for other purposes ... it's definitely something we want to expand use of."
Contact this reporter at astevens@coxohio.com.
Comments
By Anne
March 2, 2008 1:32 AM | Link to this
This is the first video game console ever to get my attention, and my kids have all of them! But I really love the Wii. Just got it a few days ago and we’re playing too much - my shoulder’s a bit sore and I socked my kid in the arm pretty good with the controller during tennis.
But, hey, we’re doing new fun stuff together and we love it! As it gets closer to spring and warmer weather, we’ll be heading out to play real tennis…but up in the north in cold winter, the Wii is a reasonable, and more than reasonably safe, alternative.
Worth every penny, already.
By Josh
February 25, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this
Jim - The games are ANOTHER form of PT and fitness. They are not the only way. Some people might respond better to video games as PT because they can see their progress better.
As for the article, complete horsecrap. Yes people can get hurt, but it’s their own damn fault. You can play Wii Sports moving your wrist only and it doesn’t have to be so hard.
The only other thing I can say is that it does take a little getting used to. You shouldn’t be play Wii Sports for 5 hours straight
By Josh
February 25, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this
Jim - The games are ANOTHER form of PT and fitness. They are not the only way. Some people might respond better to video games as PT because they can see their progress better.
As for the article, complete horsecrap. Yes people can get hurt, but it’s their own damn fault. You can play Wii Sports moving your wrist only and it doesn’t have to be so hard.
The only other thing I can say is that it does take a little getting used to. You shouldn’t be play Wii Sports for 5 hours straight
By JohnnyFACEHEAD
February 24, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
this is tragic.
i didn’t even get to the bottom of the article, this subject is soo tired and old. (plus the author seems a bit simple)
people who dont like nintendo are stupid liars, and i hate you.
TELT
!
By Tony
February 24, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this
I think anyone that gets injured playing a video game is a moron. I have had a Wii since they first came out and I have never been injured once and I have never damaged any property with it. If you are playing a game on the Wii in a manner that injures you, others, or your TV, then you aren’t playing correctly.
By Dave
February 24, 2008 2:00 AM | Link to this
Seriously?
I own a Wii, and I can say first hand that NONE of the motions actually need to be so extreme. The accelerometers in the Wii Remote and Nunchuck are sensitive enough that simple motions in the appropriate directions (e.g. forward or to the side for boxing) will suffice.
The only game I’ve needed to really do the motion for is bowling, and even that can probably be played without full motions.
People are making the problems out to be more than the reality of the situation.
By Jim
February 23, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this
Are you kidding? If we have come to the point that video games are being used for PT and as a form of fitness we are truly living in a sad society. Whatever happend to getting hurt from riding bikes or climbing a tree or playing games with kids outside?