He was 25 years old.
Video games have a reputation for keeping people glued to the couch. But for those competing against the best players in the world, playing can be surprisingly physically and mentally demanding.
The best esports players often have a tough schedule. They are expected to train regularly, compete and take part in official games. Even at a leisure level E-sports players cite the mental toll: play for hours every day to improve their skills so that they “climb the ladder.”
A 2021 study of Portuguese esports players found that 37% suffered from anxiety and depression and 45% had trouble sleeping. The most common physical injuries in esports are generally eye problems and musculoskeletal problems.
Many esports players – professional or not – also struggle with hand and wrist pain, with repetitive button mashing leading to injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and “tendonitis.”Player’s thumb“which occurs due to overuse or irritation of the tendons around the thumb and wrist. Many of the overuse injuries that occur in video game players are also known to assembly line workerswhose jobs may include similar repetitive movements.
Then there are the back injuries. Players can sit for three or more hours without a break, and this prolonged sitting can put strain on the lower back and spine.
The sedentary nature of esports has also led to a lesser-known — sometimes fatal — injury deep vein thrombosis: a blood clot, often in the leg, which can be life-threatening if it travels to the lungs. In 2011, British player Chris Staniforth played for up to 12 hours straight – died of this disease.
Preventive measures
As more research has been published on esports injuries, more treatment and prevention strategies have emerged.
Top esports teams Now there are physiotherapists, Performance psychologistssports trainer and even massage therapists on staff to optimize the performance and recovery of their players.
Teams often incorporate group exercises to both build rapport between players and reduce the risk of injury. In competition, proper positioning of the spine and limbs has become an essential injury prevention strategy. For example, choose a chair This promotes an upright posture and can reduce the risk of pain and injury, especially for gamers Combine ergonomics with an exercise program This involves functional strength, mobility and extension of the upper limbs.
As esports began to gain mainstream popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, its proponents were eager to draw comparisons to traditional sports and athletic competitions. The parallels helped establish the legitimacy of esports and gave non-gamers a familiar framework for understanding the competition. As e-sports became a big business and a lucrative career pathPlayers and teams hired a network of support staff – trainers, coaches and therapists – that reflected the structure of professional sports. In this sense, much research on esports injuries has been guided by the training methods of traditional sports. However, as a scholar of movement scienceIn my opinion, injury treatment and prevention strategies could be further improved by viewing esports competitors as musicians and dancers rather than soccer players and basketball players. Performance optimization and injury research in professional performing artists has been around for centuries and I believe it represents a valuable, untapped resource. The physical and mental demands of musical performances have a lot in common with e-sports competitions: sitting for long periods of time; small, deft hand movements; and execution without the real-time input of a trainer. For example, biomechanical research has found similar patterns of forearm muscle fatigue in humans Esports player And piano player. To date, however, no study has directly compared the two groups. And what if the interest in Joint hypermobility or Hand size among performing artists were transferred to the e-sports population? Could popular piano warm-ups be effective for esports athletes who use keyboards? Research into sports such as car racing could also provide valuable insights. As with gamers, many people overlook this how physically demanding car racing can be – and yes, that includes sitting for long periods of time. Prevention and rehabilitation techniques are constantly being improved. Even Jian, the player who retired in 2020, returned to play for some breaks or partial seasons. in 2022 and 2023. “League of Legends” star Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok will appear in July 2023 was banished to the bench because of Cubital tunnel syndromean injury caused by overuse of the arm and hand. Through a treatment plan This included changing his playing posture and intensive physical therapy. Just a month later, Lee was able to play again. He won three consecutive World Championships and his support team helped prevent injury recurrence each season. Thanks to his rehabilitation, Lee’s fans will be able to follow his quest for his fourth League of Legends World Championship. which begins in October 2026 in the United States. Sienna Cinti assisted in the research and writing of this article. Erica D. HennAssistant Professor of Kinesiology and Movement Science, Temple University This article was republished by The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read that Original article.
View of the stage
