Dusty
11-Mar-08, 18:50
I recieved the following in an e-mail from a practice I use occasionally. My daughter and son-in-law have a Wii and it all sounded familliar.
You have been warned.
Top Story: Nintendo Wii Injury Warnings
If parents’ chief worry about the popular Nintendo Wii game is the amount of time their kids are spending playing it, perhaps they should look a bit closer to home after reports that parents are injuring themselves after competing too energetically with their offspring.
The Telegraph reported in January that one osteopath, Martin Davies, who has four clinics in Cheshire, had seen a flood of parents with neck and shoulder strains resulting from playing the Wii. “In the first fortnight after Christmas I saw 20 parents with the same problem”, Mr Davies told the newspaper, “It is predominantly neck and shoulder strains caused by middle-aged people playing these games for excessive periods.”
For those of you who don’t have a Wii in the house, players have a console in the hand that translates actual arm movements into actions on the screen, allowing you to play ‘virtual’ games of tennis, boxing or golf. The temptation, as in the real game, is to compete as hard as you can.
For those of you who are victims of the ‘competitive dad’ syndrome – mums too for that matter – there is no shortage of sensible advice. Nintendo itself, for example, gave Sky News some basic guidelines: use the wrist strap so the consol doesn’t get thrown across the room; don’t be tempted to swing your arms about widely because the consol responds to even minor movements; and make sure that people and objects are out of the way before launching yourself into action.
As with any exercise, it’s sensible to do some warm up exercises before you start, rotating your shoulders, flexing your wrists etc. Your children, however, may think that you are taking things a little seriously, but that’s an occupational hazard of being a parent. If you do hurt yourself, your osteopath will be on hand to help.
You have been warned.
Top Story: Nintendo Wii Injury Warnings
If parents’ chief worry about the popular Nintendo Wii game is the amount of time their kids are spending playing it, perhaps they should look a bit closer to home after reports that parents are injuring themselves after competing too energetically with their offspring.
The Telegraph reported in January that one osteopath, Martin Davies, who has four clinics in Cheshire, had seen a flood of parents with neck and shoulder strains resulting from playing the Wii. “In the first fortnight after Christmas I saw 20 parents with the same problem”, Mr Davies told the newspaper, “It is predominantly neck and shoulder strains caused by middle-aged people playing these games for excessive periods.”
For those of you who don’t have a Wii in the house, players have a console in the hand that translates actual arm movements into actions on the screen, allowing you to play ‘virtual’ games of tennis, boxing or golf. The temptation, as in the real game, is to compete as hard as you can.
For those of you who are victims of the ‘competitive dad’ syndrome – mums too for that matter – there is no shortage of sensible advice. Nintendo itself, for example, gave Sky News some basic guidelines: use the wrist strap so the consol doesn’t get thrown across the room; don’t be tempted to swing your arms about widely because the consol responds to even minor movements; and make sure that people and objects are out of the way before launching yourself into action.
As with any exercise, it’s sensible to do some warm up exercises before you start, rotating your shoulders, flexing your wrists etc. Your children, however, may think that you are taking things a little seriously, but that’s an occupational hazard of being a parent. If you do hurt yourself, your osteopath will be on hand to help.