Gamers risk health in bid to be eSports millionaires

SHANGHAI - A record $33.5 million is up for grabs but professional eSports players like those competing in The International in Shanghai this week pay a physical price with deteriorating eyesight, digestive problems and wrist and hand damage.

At first, Evgenii "Blizzy" Ri looks perplexed at the notion: "It's impossible, how can you get injuries when you play games?"

Then the 24-year-old from Kyrgyzstan discloses that a doctor urged him to take six months off to give his failing vision a badly needed rest.

Ri plays for Natus Vincere, or NAVI, and this week is competing in The International, a world championship said to have the biggest prize pool in the history of eSports.

NAVI and 17 other teams will play the multiplayer battle game Dota 2 in front of thousands of fans at a major indoor stadium while hundreds of thousands more will watch online.

If NAVI triumph on Sunday, Ri and his team-mates will become instant millionaires -- but success could come at a price.

"I didn't worry before but now I feel like my eyes are really... I can't see so much," said Ri, who practises up to 12 hours a day.

"Ten years I've been playing computers so they are a bit... I've just got bad vision.

Ri has been told to wear glasses but he does not find them comfortable and said that his deteriorating eyesight does not hinder his performance because the screen is up close.

A doctor recommended simple eye exercises -- moving them up and down, left and right -- but he admits that he does not do them.

"Actually he also told me not to play the computer for six months to get back my vision, but I didn't listen.

"I need to play."

'MY BODY IS SO SORE'

According to several players in Shanghai, the most common health complaint for pro gamers is Carpal Tunnel syndrome.

Not unique to gamers, it happens through repetitive hand and wrist motions and is characterised by numbness, burning and tingling of the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers.

In severe cases surgery is required.

Some gamers talked about wrist injuries so severe they had to quit and lower back problems related to sitting for too long, day after day.

"I used to play and I had some arm and wrist problems so now I coach instead of playing because I can't take the strain," said Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling, of the Newbee team.

Another hazard of eSports, a fast-growing but little-understood sport, is the mental toll, particularly with life-changing sums of money on the table.

With many players so young -- most are in their 20s but there is a 17 year old at The International -- some struggle in the hyper-competitive environment.

"I just sometimes feel that my body is so sore," said Ryan "Raging Potato" Jay Qui of the Mineski team, who nevertheless says that his vision is still "20/20".

"Most of the obstacles in this kind of environment is the mentality," said the Filipino, adding that Mineski has a "psych adviser" who helps prop up the players.

CHANGING HABITS

While the money at the top of eSports is soaring, in other respects gaming remains well behind many other professional sports.

Newbee coach Ling said that eSports is only now starting to appreciate the need for physiotherapists and other staff specialising in physical and mental well-being, though most teams have no such back-up. Cost is the major reason.

Roman Dvoryankin, general manager of Virtus.pro, said many gamers have scant appreciation of how important it is to eat well, exercise and sit properly when playing.

"All the pro teams are trying to educate the players to take breaks, do some exercise, stretch properly," he said.

"It's changing now, but what we face is that we get a player and realise that his digestive system is just not working properly and they have stomach problems," added Dvoryankin.

"We do it, but it can be hard to change their daily habits."

pst/ind/rma

source: news.abs-cbn.com

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Q: I’m an office secretary who is tied up with my computer during office hours. Last month, I started feeling pain on my right hand, especially around the thumb area. The pain became progressively worse so I consulted an orthopedic surgeon. After examining me, the doctor said I have carpal tunnel syndrome. What is carpal tunnel syndrome? Is this condition due to my computer use? Do I really need an operation? --cynthia_am@yahoo.com

A: The carpal tunnel is the canal-like passageway on the palm side of the wrist through which several tendons and a pencil-sized nerve, the median nerve, pass through on their way to the hand from the forearm. The passageway is circumscribed by some of the bones of the wrist and the strong ligament the binds the bones together.

When the carpal tunnel flattens or constricts, which happens under certain conditions, the median nerve gets compressed leading to the occurrence of signs and symptoms that are collectively referred to as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a relatively common painful ailment that affects women more than men. It usually involves the dominant hand but it is not unusual for it to affect the other hand, too. People with CTS usually complain of pain in the hand associated with numbness and tingling over the thumb, index finger, middle finger and part of the ring finger. The pain may radiate into the forearm and occasionally into the shoulder, neck and chest. It is aggravated by manual activity and often awakens the person at night. If nothing is done to relieve the nerve compression, the signs and symptoms progress and atrophy of the muscles at the ball of the thumb may ensue.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be secondary to local conditions in the wrist such as inflammation of any of the tendons (tendinitis) that pass through the tunnel, fractures and tumors. Sometimes, it is one of the manifestations of a systemic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease. It is also associated with pregnancy and menopause. Most CTS patients, however, do not have any specific local or systemic disease that can account for the condition. Instead, they have a history of holding jobs that require them to do repetitive motions with the hands and wrists for long periods of time. Hence, it is common in factory workers, seamstresses and housekeepers.

Theoretically, people like you who use computers extensively should be prone to CTS. However, scientific studies have not established a definite link between computer use and CTS; hence, it is difficult to say whether or not the computer has contributed to the development of your condition. But despite the fact that the evidence linking computers to CTS is weak, ergonomic experts claim that a split keyboard that is mounted on the arms of a typist’s chair or a “floating arms” keyboard can help prevent the development of CTS in heavy computer users.

The only definitive cure for CTS is surgical division of the ligament that forms part of the carpal tunnel. After the operation, the pain usually subsides within a few days and never recurs. Muscle strength also returns gradually except when the nerve has already been severely damaged. However, surgery should be the last recourse for CTS. You should try conservative treatment first, which should include elevating the hand whenever possible and splinting of the arm and hand at night. If the above measures do not work, you could ask your orthopedic surgeon to inject your wrist with a steroid solution. But if conservative treatment fails, surgery should be an option.

(Email inquiries on health matters to: medical_notes@yahoo.com)

source: mb.com.ph