Video Games Can Play Havoc With Kids' Joints

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Almost 12 percent of the kids surveyed said their finger pain was bad enough to limit how much they played, and nearly 10 percent reported wrist pain that limited their playing time. The pain experienced was generally mild.

However, playing a Wii exclusively resulted in more self-reported pain, independent of age or hours played, according to the research.

Dr. Eric Ruderman, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, said the findings suggest that video game playing may not be good for children's developing muscles and tendons. But because the children weren't examined, he added, the cause of the pain, the potential for long-term damage and how much playing time is safe for a child remain unknown.

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"Parents need to monitor what their children are doing," Ruderman said. "Two or three hours a day, irrespective of pain in their hands, is too much time for a 7- or 8-year-old to be playing video games."

Young children also might not be able to recognize the warning signs of overuse and know when to stop playing, Ruderman added.

The findings add to a growing body of research showing that video games, PDAs, cell phones and the assorted other electronic gadgets that have become part of daily life can lead to painful repetitive stress and nerve compression injuries.

Too much texting can bring on "BlackBerry thumb," a repetitive stress injury brought on by overtaxing a single digit. Cell phone elbow, otherwise known as cubital tunnel syndrome, is a tingling or numbness in the hands caused by a compression of the ulnar nerve, which can be brought on by flexing the elbow for too long while talking. "Guitar Hero wrist" is tendinitis of the wrist brought on by efforts to mimic Jimi Hendrix.

For his part, Deniz, who wants to be an orthopedic surgeon, has cut back on his video game playing, though he did plan to celebrate the completion of his study by buying a new Wii game.

And his advice to his fellow students is to turn off their video games, even if it's not easy. "I would tell them they shouldn't play for more than one hour a day," Deniz said. "And if I were younger, I wouldn't play before the age of 7."

More information

The Nemours Foundation has tips for parents on limiting video game and computer use by their children.

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