Sports injuries are extremely common from the student athlete, professional athlete and the weekend warriors, but injuries from video games? Not so much, right? Injuries from video games are now becoming something that we are seeing in the office more regularly. Now this is not what you are thinking, this is a more specific injury related to the Nintendo Wii. Do not get me wrong; this is an incredible toy and can be used for playing and also for workout routines and even physical therapy but proper precautions must be taken.
We have a Wii and the Wii fit in my home and we did set rules for playing in the house. I am sure that you have heard about the controllers going through the TV screens, so everyone must wear the wrist straps. Well just as we have rules to prevent this we also have rules to prevent injuries. When playing any of the sporting events that require movement there must be enough space and no objects in the way. With many of the games, such as tennis, requiring you to move around, it is possible to trip on an object, toy or furniture. We have treated patients for simple things such as sprains to an ankle fracture from a fall while playing Wii.
