Tendonitis, fractures, urinary disorders… A BMJ meta-analysis reviews the various injuries linked to the use of video game consoles.
It is now official: Nintendinitis is part of the long list of known pathologies. A group of doctors and surgeons has just validated its existence, after the multiplication of cases identified in the literature.
The ravages of the joystick
Researchers reviewed 38 publications regarding musculoskeletal injuries related to the use of home consoles. In the pages of the British Medical Journal, they list the health problems that emerge when the controller is used a little too much.
The first known case of Nintendinitis dates from 1990. After spending 5 hours in front of her Super Nintendo, a 35-year-old woman experienced severe pain in her thumb. The literature mentions several cases of tendonitis of the finger, hand and wrist linked to the use of the Super Nintendo. In question: its controller, not very ergonomic – and the zeal, probably excessive, of some players.
Its little sister, the Nintendo 64, took this suffering into account and introduced the joystick to orient the characters in the games. In vain… This time, cases of ulceration (sores) in the palm of the hand were declared. One video game is particularly conducive to this type of injury: Mario Party, where players rotate the joystick 360 ° as quickly as possible. At the time, after receiving a hundred complaints, Nintendo even marketed a special protective glove.
“So absorbed that they forget to go to the bathroom”
Each era has its evils. When the Wii took over from the Super Nintendo, other “geek pathologies” appeared. Because with the new console, the whole body is called upon to perform remote-controlled gestures. The literature lists cases of more or less traumatic injuries (sprains, fractures, lacerations, bruises in the hands, neck, face and periorbital region).
Of the 39 Wii injuries listed by the researchers, 34 were due to the Wii Sport game, where the player performs sporting gestures. A 7-year-old boy lost his sight permanently when he hit his left eye with the controller.
Nintendo consoles cause other, less suspect troubles. Among them, incontinence. In the 1990s, several cases were identified. The researchers cite episodes of “fecal contamination” for one boy and “bedwetting” for three others, “all so absorbed by Super Mario Bros that they forgot their need to go to the bathroom.”
A “relatively safe” gift
But this is no reason to deprive your offspring of their dearest wish. Moreover, the authors of the study recall that science has revealed the many benefits of video games – improvement of reflexes, memory, slowing down of neurodegeneration, weight loss, postoperative support, etc.
Especially since “Nintendo pathologies” remain quite rare and most of the time harmless. “A Nintendo is a relatively harmless Christmas present,” the authors conclude. But those who receive one should not shake the controller too much, be careful where they are playing and take frequent breaks ”. And don’t forget to relieve yourself.
.
