I found a very interesting article about my favorite gaming console, the Nintendo Wii. It seems that excessive Wii playing can cause repetitive motion injuries. Surprising? Not really.
When I first started playing the Wii, I found myself quite addicted to the bowling game. It was a really fun game to play with my friends and even by myself. I could spend more than an hour at a time perfecting my throw. Once I even bowled a perfect 300! The key was keeping my technique consistent. Talk about repetitive motion! I would wake up the next day with a sore elbow, wrist, and shoulder. Just like real bowling right? Well, not exactly.
You see, when people play real sports there is typically a warm up involved followed by a variety of physical exertion and some kind of time limitation. With the Wii, you can play for hours at a time and body motions are less varied since you are playing in a small space in front of your television set, and does anyone stretch or warm up before playing a video game? I certainly don't. The availability and easy use of the Wii is also key since there is no need to round up other people to play with and weather delays are virtually non existent.
While the Wii's encouragement of physical activity is positive, the increase of these repetitive motion injuries is certainly the downside. Common injuries include tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, back and knee pain, and shoulder and elbow strains. Lucky for all those Wii players, massage therapy is a great solution for these kinds of problems. A good massage therapist can relax the muscles and release nerve entrapments associated with repetitive motion injuries. A reduction in pain and other symptoms can result, allowing the Wii player to play another day. Hooray!
Read this article in its entirety at www.integrative-healthcare.org
Wii players come see us for a massage...
Jenni Curtis, LMT 801*879*4173
Eileen Keiser, LMT 801*574*1325
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