Game fans warned of risks

By ANGELA GREGORY

Over-use of popular games Machines like PlayStation and Xbox is causing aching wrists and hands in some children.

A University of Otago child health expert warns that children who play too many computer games risk developing repetitive strain injury.

The warning follows reports that insurance companies in other parts of the world have adjusted premiums to cover a new syndrome, TMI - text message injury - caused by excessive text-messaging on cellphones.

Tutukaka 8-year-old William Bowden started complaining of sore wrists just weeks after playing the Xbox for hours on end.

He would leap out of bed at sunrise to play the game machine, which is hooked into the television.

His father, Roger Bowden, said the RSI risk had not occurred to him and he was pleased the Xbox was now packed away while he took William for a weeklong tramping trip around Tongariro National Park.

"He would get up early to play it, which I think is remarkable. Given a chance, he will play it all day."

Professor Barry Taylor, of Otago University, said children had been known to develop RSI from computer games.

"They used to call it Atari thumb after a system which was popular five or six years ago ... a lot of children got RSI in their thumbs. There is quite a long history of the ill-effects."

Professor Taylor said it was important for parents to set sensible rules with limits on how often their children played the games. They should insist on breaks with at least an hour-on, hour-off type regime, as he did with his son.

"I think because the kids like it so much they go too far. They should be stopping."

The professor of paediatrics and child health said he was also concerned at the risk of child obesity as more children stayed inside and played the games.

Professor Taylor said there was also a small risk that the flashing images could trigger epileptic seizures. That could be reduced by sitting further from the television and using a small screen in a well-lit room, and not playing when drowsy.

The Xbox comes with warnings that over-use could be associated with painful and permanent injuries including muscular skeletal disorders affecting hands, shoulders, arms and the neck.

Anyone who shows signs of numbness or stiffness is advised to seek medical advice from a qualified health professional.

Symptoms of text message injury are similar but include a painfully swollen thumb, which makes the job of tapping out information slow and agonising.

In Japan and Finland, where teenagers learn to touch-type with their thumbs, insurance companies have adjusted premiums to cover the new syndrome.

International research has shown that young people increasingly use their thumbs, and that is causing physical changes to the shorter, thicker digit.

Those affected are the under-25s who have grown up with hand-held devices capable of text messaging, emailing and accessing internet services.

Experts say mobile phones, GameBoys and computers are causing physical changes that previously would have happened over generations.

Dr Sadie Plant, author of a study carried out in nine cities around the world and founder of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit at Warwick University, says thumbs are becoming stronger and more dexterous.

She says they are taking over tasks that are traditionally the job of fingers, such as pointing at things or ringing doorbells.