Do your fingers hurt after an evening of playing Guitar Hero? Do your knuckles ache to the point that they are sensitive to touch? Are you in pain the day after a long session of jamming on your guitar shaped controller? Perhaps too much Guitar Hero is not good for you.
I love Guitar Hero. I mean I love Guitar Hero. I don’t play for an hour at a time. I usually log in about 3 – 4 hours per session, more nights than not. My left hand, the one that frets, constantly aches. Sometimes it hurts when I am doing other activities. It always hurts when I am warming up. I can go a week without playing but the pain doesn’t ever fully go away.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya sat out for 3 games back in December 2006 due to his passion for the game. They speculated Guitar Hero was to blame for his Repetitive Strain Injury. The arm that was hurt was his strumming one. He must have been doing some serious strumming to injure his arm to that degree.
About Repetitive Strain Injury from www.RSIhelp.com :
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an umbrella term for many separate ailments affecting the hand, wrist, arm, neck, upper back, and shoulder. Medical professionals also use the phrases “occupational overuse injuries” or “cumulative trauma disorders” for this condition, which can result from intensive hand use.
Symptoms of RSI include numbness, tingling, lack of endurance, tremor, clumsiness, lack of sensation, a feeling of heaviness and pain. These warning signs can appear anywhere along the hand, arm, shoulder or neck.
Warning Signs of Repetitive Strain Injury :
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) can affect the neck, shoulders, upper back, upper arm, elbows, forearms, wrists, thumbs or fingers. Warning signs of RSI can appear in any of those areas.
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Lack of endurance
- Tingling, numbness or loss of sensation
- A feeling of heaviness
- Clumsiness
- Difficulty opening and closing hands
- Stiffness
- Difficulty using hands (turning pages of books or magazines, turning doorknobs or faucets, holding a coffee mug)
- Reluctance to shake hands
- Difficulty carrying things or holding bus or subway poles
- Hands fall asleep
- Waking up with wrist pain or numb hands, especially during early morning hours
- Lack of control or coordination
- Cold hands
- Frequent self-massage
- Difficulty buttoning clothing or putting on jewelry
- Tremors
- Avoidance of activities or sports that were once enjoyable
- Pain or soreness (RSI is not always painful, though)
Do I think I have this? I honestly don’t know. I know my hand hurts on a regular basis and I know it is not normal. Despite taking a week off from this game, I still find myself in pain. I continue to hope it will go away on its own. Perhaps one day I will make my way to the doctor if the pain becomes unbearable. But until then, I will suffer in silence. Such is the price of being a rock star sometimes.
Posted by OwningXylophone on June 6, 2007 at 6:47 am
I played GH2 for about 5 hours straight last night in 2 player with a friend, and now my fingers on my left hand ache so much!
The price you pay to be cool…
Posted by Katie on July 19, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I’ve been having the same problem for a week, maybe a little longer. I’m trying to stay away from the game til my fingers feel better, but they don’t seem to be getting much better. Did yours ever go away?
Posted by bs angel on July 19, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Not completely no.
I didn’t play it for the last few weeks because I was out of town on vacation. I came back and put in a solid 3-4 hours one night. While the constant pain had gone away, when I started playing again it came right back. As long as I don’t play it too often, it is tolerable. The pain comes back quickly however it leaves just as quickly as well.
I hope your fingers get better soon. The pain is no good!
Posted by Malsy on August 14, 2007 at 10:11 am
I developed pain in my left shoulder from playing too much Guitar Hero. It was so painful I decided to learn to play with the lefty-flip in order to give the shoulder a break. But then my strumming thumb began to hurt too. And even on lefty-flip my left shoulder would begin to flare up again, although it took longer to happen.
I now no longer play Guitar Hero, and am sitting here nursing a FROZEN left shoulder. Up until a few days ago I could not lift my left arm above eye level, now I am undergoing painful physical therapy on my left shoulder every day, and I am on three prescription meds to relieve the pain and swelling. The doctor said I had bursitis. By the way, I am a male approaching 44 years of age.
I would generally not recommend this game to anybody over 39 years old, and at this point in time I don’t feel I could recommend it to anybody of any age.
Posted by bs angel on August 14, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Wow Malsy, that really sucks.
As I log less hours on the game, the majority of my symptoms have gone away. If I play for longer than an hour or so though, then the pain in my hand and arm come back immediately.
Did the doctor confirm that this game was the cause of your injury? I hope your shoulder gets better soon. No video game is worth that.
Posted by bigeyedeer on September 2, 2007 at 11:38 pm
hmmm. I bought this game yesterday and could immediately tell that it was a “danger” game in terms of RSI. I’ve experienced a weird sensation in my forearm in the past from too much mouse/keyboard action, but generally found lifting weights at the gym kept it at bay (I only noticed it when I hadn;t gone to the gym for a while). But GH2 has given me the same adverse symptoms after only about four hours of play yesterday!
I’m glad I googled “RSI” and “GUITAR HERO”. After reading these stories, I think I’ll have to keep my sessions short and a couple of days apart! Bummer. :(
Posted by bs angel on September 3, 2007 at 10:34 am
Interesting observations. Thanks for sharing.
I suppose along with anything moderation is key. I lack that sensibility unfortunately when it comes to this game. I continue to play it way too much!
Posted by Kealdrea on May 25, 2008 at 9:42 am
It’s sad, but you guys are probably screwed for life, unless your life style would allow you to only use your hands for theuraputic exercises for a couple years. I got a repetitive stress injury in the summer before my sophmore year from an MMORPG, before I had even heard of Guitar Hero. In the following school year, before I stopped bothering to keep count, I learned of eleven other people around my age who had repetitive stress injuries, a surprising amount of whom got it just from playing guitar hero.
Almost two years later, my hands are not any better, and they never will be. My dreams of being a computer programmer are still shattered, leaving me with no idea of what I want to do in life.
Unless you don’t mind chronic pain and your ideal occupation doesn’t require you to use your hands (or you’re okay with giving up video games.) I would advise against playing Guitar Hero. I’ve seen the way it’s played, and it’s so ergonomically incorrect that it’s like playing it is the same as begging to get carpal tunnel. x_x
Posted by Waffle Deluxe on February 21, 2009 at 2:30 pm
When I read the title I instantly thought about treefity