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Flexors, Extensors & You:
Gaming Survival (part 1)
Its that time of year - the Steam Sale is still going on, Humble Bundles have come and gone, various gift giving holidays have passed and good portion of you are indulging in the sins of sloth and gluttony....er....vacation. Most of us see this as an opportunity to dive headfirst into a new adventure or to finally finish off the collection of titles that were started with gusto, but fell to the wayside as "being an adult" got in the way. Whichever it is, I think we can all agree that the best method to ensure success in our endeavors is through sweet sweet...MARATHON GAMING SESSIONS!!!
There is not much that makes a gamer more happy than being setup in front of a computer or reclined on the couch in front of a console, snacks and energy drinks within arms reach, conquering foes and unlocking achievements for hours on end. We've all been there. We all love every minute of it.....until it hits.
There is not much that makes a gamer more happy than being setup in front of a computer or reclined on the couch in front of a console, snacks and energy drinks within arms reach, conquering foes and unlocking achievements for hours on end. We've all been there. We all love every minute of it.....until it hits.
At first, its just some tightness in the wrist or some cramping in the hand, but the longer we go the worse things can get. Most of the time these issues go away after taking a break, but if left untreated they can progress to pain and loss of strength in extreme cases. The underlying cause of these symptoms is most often a simple over-use injury. These injuries usually come from an imbalance in the muscles and connective tissue (ligaments connect bone to bone and tendons connect muscle to bone) that make up the flexors and extensors in the wrist and forearm.
Our body works in pairs - there is always something that has to relax for a contraction to occur and vice versa. In this pair, the flexors on the underside of the forearm contract for us to squeeze our hand/press down on keys/buttons while the extensors on the top of the forearm contract to let us lift the our fingers back up/open the hand. Quite often we are using the flexors more while neglecting the extensors. If this goes on for long enough, the flexors wind up overpowering the extensors which results in them not being able to support/help regulate the contractions that take place. When the extensors can no longer provide the proper support, more stress than was intended is put upon the connective tissue leading to inflammation. This is when ugly names like tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are thrown about.
Not only do these conditions suck, they can take a very long time to heal on their own (tendons and ligaments have a very slow healing rate due to a very minimal nutrient supply). I had exercise induced tendonitis in my wrists a while ago that took over a year to fully heal (I was dumb and ignored the warning signs). That being said, there is hope!
In part 2 of this topic, I will be posting videos of some quick stretches and exercises that you can do to keep yourself pain-free and gaming comfortably for hours on end! Even if you don't have any issues now, these movements just feel good to do before and after a long session of crushing your controller or keyboard and mouse. Tune in next week!
*Legal: I am not a doctor. Consult your physician before starting a new exercise routine. This article is meant for entertainment purposes only.
Our body works in pairs - there is always something that has to relax for a contraction to occur and vice versa. In this pair, the flexors on the underside of the forearm contract for us to squeeze our hand/press down on keys/buttons while the extensors on the top of the forearm contract to let us lift the our fingers back up/open the hand. Quite often we are using the flexors more while neglecting the extensors. If this goes on for long enough, the flexors wind up overpowering the extensors which results in them not being able to support/help regulate the contractions that take place. When the extensors can no longer provide the proper support, more stress than was intended is put upon the connective tissue leading to inflammation. This is when ugly names like tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are thrown about.
Not only do these conditions suck, they can take a very long time to heal on their own (tendons and ligaments have a very slow healing rate due to a very minimal nutrient supply). I had exercise induced tendonitis in my wrists a while ago that took over a year to fully heal (I was dumb and ignored the warning signs). That being said, there is hope!
In part 2 of this topic, I will be posting videos of some quick stretches and exercises that you can do to keep yourself pain-free and gaming comfortably for hours on end! Even if you don't have any issues now, these movements just feel good to do before and after a long session of crushing your controller or keyboard and mouse. Tune in next week!
*Legal: I am not a doctor. Consult your physician before starting a new exercise routine. This article is meant for entertainment purposes only.