'Vibrating' Games May Pose Injury Risk to Kids
#1
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'Vibrating' Games May Pose Injury Risk to Kids
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...rgame_injury_1
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'Vibrating' Games May Pose Injury Risk to Kids
Fri Feb 1,10:26 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The case of a 15-year-old computer-game enthusiast suggests that the vibrating hand controls available for some games could be a hazard to the upper limbs, according to UK researchers.
The teen in this case was diagnosed with hand-arm vibration syndrome, which has previously been associated with regular use of tools such as gas-powered chain saws and pneumatic drills.
He came to doctors complaining of having suffered "painful hands" for 2 years--a problem that arose after long-time use of his home computer games, which he played for up to 7 hours a day. The boy's hands would become white and swollen in the cold, then turn red and painful as they warmed.
Dr. A. Gavin Cleary and colleagues at Liverpool Children's Hospital report on the case in the February 2nd issue of the British Medical Journal.
According to the doctors, their patient was particularly fond of a driving game in which the hand control could vibrate to provide an "off-road" feeling. They note that hand-arm vibration syndrome--previously known as "vibration white finger"--was first widely recognized as a potential occupational hazard in the mid-1980s.
"No cases of the hand-arm vibration syndrome have previously been reported in association with prolonged use of vibrating hand-held computer devices," Cleary's team notes.
And although their patient spent an "excessive" amount of time on his computer games, they speculate that this not uncommon among kids.
"We believe that, with increasing numbers of children playing these devices, there should be consideration for statutory health warnings to advise users and parents," the authors write.
They add, however, that more evidence of how often this problem affects children is needed.
SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;324:301.
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<hr>
'Vibrating' Games May Pose Injury Risk to Kids
Fri Feb 1,10:26 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The case of a 15-year-old computer-game enthusiast suggests that the vibrating hand controls available for some games could be a hazard to the upper limbs, according to UK researchers.
The teen in this case was diagnosed with hand-arm vibration syndrome, which has previously been associated with regular use of tools such as gas-powered chain saws and pneumatic drills.
He came to doctors complaining of having suffered "painful hands" for 2 years--a problem that arose after long-time use of his home computer games, which he played for up to 7 hours a day. The boy's hands would become white and swollen in the cold, then turn red and painful as they warmed.
Dr. A. Gavin Cleary and colleagues at Liverpool Children's Hospital report on the case in the February 2nd issue of the British Medical Journal.
According to the doctors, their patient was particularly fond of a driving game in which the hand control could vibrate to provide an "off-road" feeling. They note that hand-arm vibration syndrome--previously known as "vibration white finger"--was first widely recognized as a potential occupational hazard in the mid-1980s.
"No cases of the hand-arm vibration syndrome have previously been reported in association with prolonged use of vibrating hand-held computer devices," Cleary's team notes.
And although their patient spent an "excessive" amount of time on his computer games, they speculate that this not uncommon among kids.
"We believe that, with increasing numbers of children playing these devices, there should be consideration for statutory health warnings to advise users and parents," the authors write.
They add, however, that more evidence of how often this problem affects children is needed.
SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;324:301.
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#5
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I wonder how hard the kid grips the steering wheel...it seems to me that clenching it tightly while it vibrates would be more likely to cause this.
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He came to doctors complaining of having suffered "painful hands" for 2 years--a problem that arose after long-time use of his home computer games, which he played for up to 7 hours a day.
if the kids been complaining for 2 years & plays games for 7 hours a day his parents must be about as interactive as a box of rocks...