Brock PhD student Garrick Forman, (MSc19) is part of the team at the Universitys Neuromechanics and Ergonomics Lab, which is studying the characteristics, habits, pain and discomfort in casual and professional gamers via Brock University Communications & Public Affairs.
Brock Ph.D. student, Garrick Forman, is conducting a study on gaming-related injuries.
Currently, there are no known studies on the ergonomics of gaming and the toll video games can take on a gamers body. Foreman was inspired to conduct this research after his own personal observations as an avid gamer.
There are no statistics on the injuries of professional gamers, said Forman in an online media release. Watching online tournaments, I started to see a lot of the players wearing kinesiology tape or braces due to wrist and forearm injuries. This got me thinking about the research potential and its implications for gamers.
Brock Universitys Neuromechanics and Ergonomics Lab launched an online survey to collect data. With this data, Foreman aims to analyze the factors, such as consoles and chairs, that influence the ergonomics of gaming.
I am trying to find out when gaming injuries are starting and whether people are playing through the pain, said Foreman in an online media release. Not surprisingly, there have been documented injuries to professional gamers at a very young age and even recreational gamers report playing-related pain and discomfort.
Gaming has been developed over the decades into a billion-dollar, international phenomenon. Professional gamers can make salaries, in addition to prize money from tournaments. Gamers can spend upwards of 12 hours per day or more either practicing for tournaments or playing casually. A gamers commitment to their video games opens a flood gate for the biomechanic industry.
This [gaming] translates into a potentially huge biomechanics industry, especially because we are moving into spending longer durations in the digital world. Due to COVID-19, we are home more and likely gaming more; however, this has long-term implications because of the direction gaming is moving, said Foreman.
Foremans research is only the beginning of Brocks dive into biomechanical research in the gaming arena. Foremans supervisor is Kinesiology Associate Professor Michael Holmes, the Canada Research Chair in Neuromuscular Mechanics and Ergonomics, who says that this is the tip of the iceberg for research into gaming hardware.
For a number of years, our lab has focused on identifying mechanisms of work-related injuries to the hand and wrist, said Holmes in an online media release. Garricks thesis will contribute to the development of standards of practice for gaming and could lead to improved hardware design of gaming peripherals [accessories].
The survey Forman is conducting through the Neuromechanics and Ergonomics Lab has already received international interest from over 25 countries. To be a part of Foremans research, participants must be over 18 years of age and play video games regularly. The online survey takes 10-15 minutes and can be found at https://brock.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1LVehAffxmc5gVL.
Read more:
Brock kicks off study on gaming-related injuries - - Brock Press
