Citation

Hirpara KM, Abouazza OA. Inj. Extra 2008; 39(3): 86-87.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.injury.2007.07.034

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Computer video games are historically a very sedentary past time, and the people that play them are generally considered immune to athletic injuries. Computer video games have already been found to have health consequences including: Nintendonitis (repetitive strain injuries from using joysticks and control pads leading to DeQuervains tenosynovitis and lateral epicondylitis), video-game epilepsy, the Playstation thumb (blisters, numbness and tingling, mainly in the thumb) and the video game induced knuckle pad (a painful hyperpigmented plaque over the right second distal interphalangeal joint of the video gamer).

Nintendo has recently released a video game console (Wii), which uses a motion sensitive control system. There have already been reports of damage to furniture and equipment as vigorous usage of this control pad caused it to slip from the player's hands. We found no reports in the literature of this device being associated with physical injury previously but we report a case of the "Wii Knee".

An 18-year-old female was playing a video game (Tennis, Nintendo Sports); she was using the motion sensitive controller to mimic the handle of a tennis racket. She fell whilst simulating a serve and sustained a dislocation of her left patella. Patellar dislocation is an injury usually associated with athletic pursuits.

The constant search by computer game companies for innovative methods of interacting with video games has lead to increasingly intricate control methods. The Nintendo Wii, with its advertisements displaying people gesticulating wildly, whilst playing games has shown that video games are no longer the sedentary affairs that they used to be. Unfortunately, as the historic view of games still persists, individuals do not consider playing games in this system to be the physically exerting activity it obviously is. We would advise that the new control system of the Nintendo Wii should be considered a physical activity and therefore should demand the same respect given to any athletic pursuit.