My neck, my back… my wrists and fingers

July 26, 2023 8:31 AM

An obsessive gamer’s guide to chronic pain peripherals [Polygon] “I now live by a common chronic pain axiom called “spoon theory.” Every day, I have a number of “spoons” at my disposal — a measurement of my energy, where each spoon signifies the ability to do one task. Sometimes I wake up with few spoons to spare. Sometimes I overspend my spoons and must live for weeks in recovery, with no spoons at all.” Playing video games used to replenish every spoon in my drawer — it was a restorative, passive hobby like reading or doing a puzzle. But all of these activities have something in common: They involve sitting, crouching, and craning my body for hours at a time. After my back injury, I realized I had to rebuild my idea of rest, and that I needed to factor ergonomics into nearly every aspect of playing games, especially because I have a tendency to get sucked in. [...] Nowadays, I think seriously about the tools I use, and the positions I sit in (or pretzel my body into) when I become obsessed with a game. I’ve assembled some of my favorite “hacks” for gaming with chronic pain. Because chronic pain is an individual experience, your mileage may vary. But these tools and tricks have helped me enjoy playing games in the most pain-free way possible since my injuries.”
posted by Fizz (17 comments total)

Vertical mouse ftw!! I know so many women in tech, in particular, who say getting an evoluent prolonged their careers.
posted by potrzebie at 8:38 AM on July 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

I have taught so many people the concept of spoon theory, that I forget not everyone knows it when I’ve run out of spoons and say that the phrase to somebody who has no idea what I’m talking about!
posted by ellieBOA at 9:04 AM on July 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

I've been a moderately obsessive gamer for 30+ years, and like the author am hyperflexible, with a few spinal weirdnesses. And I'm a programmer. I find I am much better off on a laptop on the couch (or sometimes bed) than trying to work or game at a desk. I feel like reclining is a much more natural human posture than sitting on a chair. Reclining gives me a lot of flexibility in arranging cushions to support back, elbows, neck, knees etc however I feel I need at the moment, and it lets me stretch and wriggle around a lot in addition to getting up to move around periodically. I feel like this seems to be counter to much of the advice out there, but combined with good stretching, it's gotten me to my late 50s with only minor elbow and back complaints.
posted by Rhedyn at 9:18 AM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

I feel like reclining is a much more natural human posture than sitting on a chair.

Same. I cannot do the whole gaming in a chair with a PC anymore b/c of a few reasons: gaming PCs are outside of budget, I already sit at a desk in front of three screens for work (so no thank you, i don't need more of that), and as Rhedyn just wrote up above, I too find it much easier to recline on a more comfortable couch/cushions/bed.

I usually oscillate between sitting cross-legged or with my legs stretched out and I try to get up every half hour to an hour to move my legs and drink some water. It helps that I'm already kind of an anxious person who likes variety gaming more than long sessions of playing one single game. But there's some good advice in this article, even if it is just general health and safety that seems pretty obvious, its so easy to get sucked in or forget.
posted by Fizz at 9:31 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

We swapped out our PS4 for a PS5 about a year ago, and my ability to game for very long is now hampered by the sheer weight of the PS5 controller. I find myself playing with it sitting on my lap, which is fine until I need the trigger buttons, which unfortunately is all the time. I'm sure that it's due to the built in mic and rumble thing, neither of which matters to me, and I would love to buy the same controller without those.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:54 AM on July 26, 2023

I feel like reclining is a much more natural human posture than sitting on a chair.

My main issues with sitting are a tendency to hunch (if I'm not leaning back) and sitting on my feet, cutting off circulation (in order to get my spine to do something different).

I just recently upgraded my home office chair to an Andaseat Kaiser 3. It allows for some pretty serious reclining, has an adequately tall backrest with adjustable magnetic pillow, an adjustable lumbar support, and firm but not hard cushioning. I love it. It makes it so much easier to not hunch.

I also switched to a vertical mouse recently, from years of trackballs. It took some getting used to, and when I'm not using it I sometimes clumsily bump into it, but now I like it quite a bit.
posted by Foosnark at 10:00 AM on July 26, 2023

I did some damage to my hands/wrists doing really unergonomic key combinations, hundreds of times, to LaTeX my dissertation. Then again when I played too much DCSS. Both were on laptops that lack some of the keys that would have made this less damaging. Now I have mechanical keyboard and vertical mouse and I'm pretty good as long as I take frequent breaks don't try shift-command-L.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:57 AM on July 26, 2023

I tried a vertical mouse and it was dreadful. Every time I clicked, the mouse would jump to the left and wouldn't target whatever I was previously pointing at. The only way I could resolve this was to firmly hold the side with my thumb, which caused its own set of problems. I suppose everyone reporting success above has some different kind of mouse or hand size that negates this problem.

I find that standing works well for me. I have a standing desk, but I've also just stood in front of the TV, or stuck a laptop on some boxes. It forces some movement (even if that movement is to lean against the table), and it lends itself to taking regular breaks. Unlike work, you want to be focused on the game, so the act of standing isn't as distracting.

And if the standing becomes distracting, probably means the game isn't that immersive and I should do something else.
posted by meowzilla at 11:02 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I believe I have permanent nerve damage in my left index finger from WASD usage. Sometimes it will just start twitching by itself. It's unpleasant and a reminder that some things do not heal by themselves.
posted by meowzilla at 11:05 AM on July 26, 2023

Forgot to say, but some of the other comments reminded me: for me mice are the absolute worst (although to be fair I've never tried any other than the standard sort). The combination of fine movements while gripping, especially if also holding down a button, is not something my arm/wrist tolerates for long. So I only use touchpad/trackpad and right side arrow keys. If a game is WASD I remap it if possible.
posted by Rhedyn at 11:12 AM on July 26, 2023

When I started playing Gran Turismo 7 (in cockpit view), I found that standing in front of my big TV screen instead of sitting was much better, especially for those hour-long endurance races.

I drive the virtual race cars better this way, but it also has the added benefit of making my overall posture much more neutral, and easier to adjust.
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:56 AM on July 26, 2023

Far, far too many years of XBox use led me to discovering a new term a while back: de Quervain's tenosynovitis. The only thing that really works, sadly, is staying off the XBox for a while.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:03 PM on July 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

Man, I was perfectly comfortable but now my whole spine is self-conscious.
posted by hypnogogue at 3:00 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

My biggest issue has always been tendonitis in my right wrist. Comes from handwriting actually, but it's made its way over into computer use. Trackpads are a killer, mice without a wrist brace are also. Which brings me to my point- look into stabilization and bracing. I own four of five wrist braces and they are crucial to working/gaming. With them, I can use a computer for hours without issue. Without, I have 20-30 minutes before the pain sets in.

I also switched to a gaming laptop eight years ago. It's less powerful and more expensive than a gaming desktop computer, but the ability to play games from the couch or the armchair has been fantastic.
posted by Hactar at 3:54 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

My DeQuervain's (coupled with some tennis elbow issues from crocheting) responds pretty well to wearing braces when it acts up. Some people will sometimes need a brace with a thumb spica, which immobilizes the thumb and definitely isn't conducive to gaming, but some will get by with very light braces that just give the wrist some extra support (Mueller Sport, etc).

A long gaming session definitely aggravates it.
posted by verbminx at 5:02 PM on July 26, 2023

I feel like reclining is a much more natural human posture than sitting on a chair.

I converted a recliner into a reclining desk in February of this year and it has been life changing. My lower back and neck pain cleared up in a week or two.

I didn't have a bad setup at my office before this, either. My (former) work paid for all the ergo things. I'd always joked that I would prefer a recumbant desk over a sit/stand and when I got a new full time work from home position I did the conversion as a weekend project. It looks VERY goofy in my home, but that's a small price to pay. The project cost less than $200.

If you've ever thought about something similar I encourage you to just go for it. It was a lot easier to do than I expected.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 6:20 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am, sadly, too fat to recline. If I try the leaned-back angle all the ergonomic advice tells me to use I can't reach the keyboard because everything else in the workspace assumes I can just slide under the desk to get closer.
posted by Karmakaze at 5:42 AM on July 27, 2023