I work all day, like most of us, at a desk in front of a computer. I write most of the day & I game at night. Last weekend we shut ourselves indoors because we didn’t know what Hurricane Harvey was going to do. Thankfully we ended up being clear of the heavy rains & storms but for the 1st few days we were being good citizens & staying home as advised. Besides being glued to the Weather Channel, I spent more time than usual online playing games.
This week I’ve had annoying, noticeable aches in my right shoulder, my mouse hand.
I started researching gamer shoulder to see if this was a thing and guess what, it is!
Here’s what I found on how to avoid & treat gamer shoulder:
- Ergonomic workstations are your friend. Get rid of your standard mouse & go for an ergonomic mouse, keyboard, chair, & desk. I love my current workstation, it feels creative and homey. It was put together with writing in mind so I really don’t want to change it but I can start with my mouse. I can switch my standard mouse to something more gamer friendly.
I’m going to check out the recommends from here but any suggestions from my fellow gamers would be amazing.
https://flipboard.com/@momsmags/top-10-best-ergonomic-gaming-mouse-reviews-2016-2017-gcjvhtpey
- It’s all about positioning. Your mom was right, you need to sit up straight & check your posture.
I hate to admit this but I think I game in the Shaggy position. You know Shaggy, from Scooby Doo? My shoulders slumped & my neck out. Terrible for your spine & really painful on your muscles. I’m more conscious then ever now & find relief every time I correct my neck & pull my shoulders back. Geez, why didn’t someone tell me I looked like Shaggy this whole time, it’s not an attractive look for a gal.
3.Treat gaming like an athletic sport. That’s right, gamers are athletes!
Like any athlete we are suppose to strengthen ourselves & take care of our muscles with stretches and exercises. We’ve got this really cool foam roller from a friend of our that ran a physical therapy clinic. You can get them anywhere though. Using a foam roller is like giving yourself a deep tissue message which can help with recover & healing. It’s awkward to use at first and it hurts, but with a good kind of hurt.
If you’ve got some tips & tricks to help please let me know, don’t leave me hanging.
Here are some of resources I found:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-dangerous-gaming-injuries-and-how-to-avoid-them/
I'm not much of a gamer, but I am a big fan of the foam roller. Saved my back and shoulders more times than I can count.
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