When They Said Video Games Were Unhealthy, They Probably Weren't Thinking Of This

from the meat-hooks dept

The competition in the video-game market is intense, even when it comes to console-induced injuries. You've got Wiinjuries, Guitar Hero arm strains, and now, "PlayStation palmar hidradenitis." That's the name given to some intense sores a 12-year-old Swiss girl developed on the palms of her hands after playing her Playstation for several hours a day. Ironically, hidradenitis is more commonly found on the soles of kids' feet who take part in heavy physical activity, like running. While doctors and Sony both say this is the first case of its kind they've seen, don't be surprised if politicians start railing against sore palms as another danger video games pose to kids.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Wiinjuries On The Rise, But Still Probably Not The Most Dangerous Thing In Your House

from the go-outside-and-play dept

Back in 2006, Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joel Zumaya almost missed the ALCS playoffs due to an injury, caused not by hurling baseballs at 100+ miles per hour, but by excessive video game playing of the popular guitar simulation, Guitar Hero. Fast forward a few years, and once again, there are now reports of an increased number of injuries as a result of playing the Nintendo Wii, due to the more physically involved play associated with the new game system. The reports do seem a bit alarmist, however. Anyone that has actually played with the Wii quickly learns to control themselves (and also learns that the excessive movement that could potentially cause injury is actually not even needed). Even Nintendo's own study has shown that Wii playing is not great exercise, so it is highly unlikely that anyone is really going to heed the article's advice and stretch prior to playing Wii. The article mentions an increase in the number of Wii-related ER cases, but fails to give any supporting data to this anecdote. So, until some supporting numbers are published to prove the contrary, it is probably a safe bet that rollerblades cause more ER visits than Wiis.

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