PARENTS are suffering injuries from spending too long playing active sports video games with their children, health experts have reported.
Adults have reported painful neck and shoulder strains after taking part in virtual games such as tennis and boxing with their younger relatives.
The phenomenon is known as Nintendo Wii syndrome, or Wii-itis, after the game which proved a massive
hit at Christmas.
Players mimic the actions involved in the sports while holding a remote control which transmits their movements to a screen.
The mishaps caused by the craze have been catalogued on websites such as www.wiihaveaproblem.com while the British Chiropractic Association has devised warm-up exercises to help gamers avoid injury.
Martin Davies, an osteopath in Cheshire, said those at greatest risk were middle-aged parents being pestered into "just one more game" by their children.
Mr Davies said he had seen 20 new patients in the two weeks after Christmas – each one the parent of an enthusiastic Wii player.
He said: "It is predominantly neck and shoulder strains caused by middle-aged people playing these games for excessive periods.
"I think there is a link between using a Wii inappropriately and suffering injury.
"Over Christmas, it's natural for parents to spend lots of time with their children, but some are spending hours and hours playing tennis and boxing.
"Parents, as much as the youngsters, have to learn to follow the guidelines."
However, he added: " It isn't all bad news. The son of one of my patients lost a stone in weight by playing the Wii games."
Physiotherapists also warned of the dangers of such games, but said playing them was better than more sedentary computer games, or taking no exercise at all.
Kirsten Lord, the managing director of the privately-run Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre, said injuries could be caused by people colliding with walls and furniture because of having insufficient space for the games, or drinking before they played.
However, she said Wii games had benefits such as players using their arms and upper body, which helped ward off cardiovascular diseases.
Roger Vincent, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said people should read the instructions before starting to play such games.
Health boards in Edinburgh and Glasgow said they had no indication of a serious problem with such injuries.
A spokesman for Nintendo using the Wii remote control and wrist strap in compliance with its guidelines would prevent injuries or damage to surrounding objects.
However, he said players should ensure people and objects were out of the range of movement before play began.
LEARNING TO BOX CLEVERSPORTS fan "Beth Thomson" was determined not to let her young nephew and niece beat her at virtual boxing – to her cost.
Beth, 36, thought she had slept on her arm when she work up in pain the morning after playing the Wii game with her eight- and nine-year-old relatives for three and a half hours.
The researcher, who asked for her name to be changed to save her blushes, went to work with an aching right wrist and forearm which became much worse.
Beth only realised the cause later when she mentioned the injury to her sister – the children's mother. Both parents had suffered similarly since their son received the game for Christmas.
Beth, from Cambuslang, near Glasgow, said: "I was being beaten by an eight-year-old and was not having it, so I kept playing and went a bit far.
"It's put me off computer games for life – I'll stick to my niece's karaoke game next time."
The full article contains 612 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
