Video games health toll

Children who spend hours glued to video games are exposing themselves to an array of health problems ranging from mouse elbow to joystick digit.

Doctors say children who play games for more than an hour a day are putting themselves at risk. As many as one in five children had some kind of health problem linked to overuse, according to a new Japanese study.

One in seven children spent so much time playing games that they had black rings around the eyes because of lack of sleep, say the researchers, who questioned 1142 children aged 6 to 11 and their parents.

The report, in the medical journal Pediatrics International, shows that 20 per cent of the children had muscle stiffness. In a third of cases, the stiffness was so severe that the shoulder blade had been displaced.

The researchers from the Akita University School of Medicine found that those who spent more than an hour a day playing games were more likely to have problems.

Doctors have previously identified a range of syndromes linked to games playing, most of which are the result of repetitive movements or of sleep deprivation.

Some researchers say overuse could cause long-term heart damage. Mouse elbow is caused by damage to the tissue of the forearm and the elbow.

The elbow can also suffer injury as a result of too vigorous movements of the mouse.

Palm blister is the result of overuse of the sensitive skin at the centre of the palm. Video eyes are the result of too much game playing and too little sleep.

Joystick digit is a consequence of overuse of the finger on the joystick. Vibration finger or hand-arm vibration syndrome is caused by excessive use of vibrating computer game controllers.

Nerve trap is caused by the head and neck being in one position for too long.

The new report has invigorated calls in Britain for games to carry health warnings that advise on the time spent playing them. Dr Mark Griffiths, psychology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, said: "The games are designed to keep you there for hours and hours. Once people are on, they stay on."

Paediatricians at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital cited the case of a 15-year-old boy who spent up to seven hours a day playing a driving game on his Sony PlayStation.

He had suffered pain and swelling in his hands for two years as a result of the vibrating controller.

Sony Computer Entertainment is investigating the report but PlayStation games already advise users to take a 15-minute break every hour.

- INDEPENDENT

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