1UP! Injured gamers can now get extra lives from the Mayo Clinic
If you’ve ever suffered from a sore thumb, ligament pain or a bad back after several hours of demolishing virtual opponents on your favorite video game console of choice, the Mayo Clinic has a full program devoted to getting you back in the game. The health system’s Gaming and Esports Medicine Clinic focuses on medical issues that impact professional and hobbyist video gamers, which largely come from repetition and overuse.
The Mayo Clinic is fulfilling an emerging need, particularly as more schools and clubs sponsor competitive gaming, with more than 8,600 high schools nationwide starting esports teams since 2018.
“Some of these players can be doing over 500 actions a minute, which is huge — that’s clicks on a keyboard, clicks on a mouse,” said Jane Konidis, M.D., a physiatrist and senior associate consultant in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic. “So you can imagine the tendons can get overloaded and have some wearing down.”
Other common conditions Kondis and her colleagues see from patients are eye fatigue and pain in the hands, wrists and back. The clinic, created in 2021, sees patients from around the world in person and through virtual care visits. Physicians also provide advice on performance improvement, which includes developing healthy habits and injury prevention.
“Small, consistent changes can really lead to big wins for a player’s health, and in game, as well,” Kondis said. “Making sure you get some physical activity as well throughout this, good sleep and good basics.”