Young people love to play video games on TV or portable game consoles, and so do doctors and their families. Indeed, an occasional gaming session is an excellent timeout after long hours of stressful work and makes you feel relaxed.

Today, the graphic presentations and designs of video games are fascinating and of high quality. Some recently launched motion games even require players to follow them with body motions, making them more entertaining than ever.

Although video games are fun, they can also induce occupational diseases. Prolonged periods of quick, swift movements can weaken the functions of finger joints and tendons, in particular that of the right thumb, which performs most of the "clicking" actions. The thumb easily gets sore and swollen as a result of vigorous movements.

The shoulders and neck are high-risk parts of the body too. Slouching on the couch and playing video games for hours without moving can cause muscles to become stiff. Hence, the best practice is to follow some stretching exercises to relax your muscles before and after playing the games.

When we watch the screen intently for long hours, we tend to blink less than we normally do, which will result in less secretion of natural tears. This will make our eyes feel dry and sore from tiredness. Therefore, do pay attention to blinking more when playing video games, and avoid playing for too long.

There are still many "dos" and "don'ts" which have not been listed here. I will tell you all about them next time.

By Dr. Sing Sit

*Translation from Chinese article.