Healthy Gaming: Keep your body pain and ache-free while on your phone or playing games
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Let's be real – summer is coming and your kids are going to spend more time on their video games and their phones.
The medical experts are warning of an uptick in physical problems directly related to our devices.
While we're focusing on children, this really applies to all of us who use phones, computers, and yes, even gaming consoles.
Now, it's not an admonishment to get kids off of video games.
"We see a much clearer path to pro play, to content creation, to college scholarships," said Dr. Drew Schwartz of the Cleveland Clinic.
However, he stresses posture because they have seen an uptick in neck-based injuries which are tied directly to how we use those electronics.
"Everyone is typically like this, poor ergonomics with screen height," he said. "We see neck pain, we see a lot of back pain, as well as aches."
Dr. Schwartz said to start with where you are sitting.
"We want to be in a supportive chair that allowed you to move we want that seat to be not straight up and down but kind of passed like 100-110 degrees to offset a lot of the weight-bearing of those structures in the low back and relax those muscles in the low back to get tight and get burning towards the end of the day or prolong city," he explained.
While a desk-type chair is great for you, for your child, make sure they sit back or put a pillow behind their backs.
"You want to utilize that backrest and not use it up because that will cause tension and tightness in the lower back," Dr. Schwartz said.
He also recommends a footrest as well as the "20-20-20 Rule."
"20 minutes you take a break and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds is great," he said.
That's important for a lot of reasons, including putting a hard limit on time spent gaming.
Dr. Schwartz said for the younger kids, no more than two hours total a day, but for older kids who are competing and e-gaming, it all depends on mixing it with other health breaks.
If you've seen your child in the elbows on knees, leaning forward position, you need to get them sitting up and supported.
That caution, however, doesn't end with just the back. Gaming chairs are great for the back and neck, but they don't relieve the stress on parts of the body.
"I like hard resets and timer is like an egg timer, a kitchen timer, that's loud, it's very annoying, every half hour-45 minutes just to take a break," he said.
When he says a break, he means a break. Get up, out of your chair, and get your eyes focused on something else.
"Whether it's outside, look at your lawn or you know look at something outside to get that reset but also that green space kind of helps calm this down," he said. "Helps with mental performance."
He also recommended moving physically, such as running up the stairs around the house, go get the mail, just physical activity that promotes a physical and mental reset.
Also, if you're holding the game on your phone...
"You put some pillows or something underneath the device so it kind of raises up," Dr. Schwartz said.
Dr. Schwartz also said that hydration isn't just for physical gaming, regardless of age, he recommends a dedicated gaming water bottle.
"We want to make sure that we're promoting hydration because you're better when you're hydrated," he explained. "Everything works better when we're hydrated. Everything works better mentally."
In short, he's not saying don't game – he's saying game smarter.
