The purpose of this article is to discuss health-related musculoskeletal injury concerns of esports and video game players. Competitive video gaming continues to increase in popularity worldwide. However, gamers are sedentary in prolonged seated positions with increased screen usage while incurring repetitive uses of muscles in specific areas of the body. Because of these habits, many are facing physical challenges, including wrist, neck, shoulder, and back injuries as well as other injuries from overuse such as eye strain (McGee et al., 2024). By discovering causes, risk factors, and methods to try and prevent these conditions, this article will explain how to raise awareness and promote healthier habits in the gaming community.

One of the primary risk factors of gamers are musculoskeletal injuries due to repetitive overuse of fine motor movements needed to play video games. Examples are excessive mouse clicking, shoulder/wrist/arm movements to manipulate the mouse, and keyboard fingering with PC players, or fine motor movements used with joysticks or controllers with console-based players. Mobile gaming utilizing fine motor movements of the fingers often with a strong forward head lean is also a concern with those playing on mobile devices. Some esports players are performing at a rate of 500-600 actions in a minute which increases the strain on muscles and tendons (Mayo Clinic, 2026). Performing these actions over long static durations without consistent breaks will often lead to injury (Tholl et al., 2022). These repetitive actions can result in conditions such as gamers elbow and other types of tendinopathies (Mayo Clinic).

Another factor contributing to gaming injuries is the time being sedentary with poor and/or static posture (McGee et al., 2024). Gaming sessions often last hours with minimal breaks or changing posture, which places significant strain on players’ eyes, neck, back, and shoulders. Musculoskeletal pain from gaming is common in upper limbs, neck, and the lower back of gamers (Massey et al., 2026). One study indicates that 65% of esports players report experiencing musculoskeletal pain (Massey et al., 2026). Another study found that approximately 27% of collegiate esports players reported at least one gaming related injury with a linear correlation between playing time and injury rates (Tholl et al., 2022). These findings suggest that gamers of all competitive levels are at considerable risk for musculoskeletal injuries.

Muscle fatigue is another raising concern. A recent study found prolonged gaming sessions can lead to significant wrist fatigue, which can decline performance and could lead to a long-term chronic injury (Tholl et al., 2022). This fatigue will decline muscle efficiency and can change movement patterns that can further pain over time. If the individual does not get the proper rest, the cycle worsens, and at the professional esports level often leads to premature retirements (Hedlund et al., 2025).

Preventing these injuries is very limited within the gaming community. Poor setups, lack of physical exercise, and not taking proper breaks are concerns. Some measures that an individual can do to try and prevent this is physically warming up prior to and cooling down after gaming, utilizing appropriate ergonomics (i.e., feel flat on the floor, thighs parallel to the ground, head over hips and an arm’s length away from the monitor, etc.), consistently changing postures, stretching, and scheduling regular breaks can be possible solutions (Tholl et al., 2022).

Ultimately, musculoskeletal injuries are a concern in esports and video gaming. The combinations of repeated motor movements, sedentary positioning, and not taking breaks places individuals at risk for a range of injuries. As esports grows, increased awareness and preventative strategies are necessary to protect the health of these players.

Note

Kaden Grossi is a senior management major from Butler, PA at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU). He is a student in Dr. Seth Jenny’s “Introduction to Esports” course in the Department of Exercise Science at SRU.

References

Hedlund, D. P., Jenny, S. E., Donoghue, J., & Leis, O. (2025). Esports team and player management. In D. P. Hedlund, S. E. Jenny, & G. Fried (Eds.). Esports business management (2nd ed., pp. 231-244). Human Kinetics.

Massey, S. M. et al. (2026). Ergonomic risk factors and musculoskeletal disorders in esports athletes. Thera-Connect 2K25 International Conference Proceedings. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 20(2), 9. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2026/88435.22855

Mayo Clinic. (2026). Esports injuries and illnesses: Recognizing and mitigating common conditions in esports players. https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/physical-medicine-rehabilitation/news/esports-injuries-and-illnesses-recognizing-and-mitigating-common-conditions-in-esports-players/mac-20595952

McGee, C., Ho, K., & Jenny, S. E. (2024). Esports Ergonomics and Injuries (Chapter 3.8). In S. E. Jenny, N. Besombes, T. Brock, A. C. Cote, & T. M. Scholz (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Esports (pp. 240-254). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003410591-25

Tholl, C., Bickmann, P., Wechsler, K., Froböse, I., & Grieben, C. (2022). Musculoskeletal disorders in video gamers: A systematic review. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 23, 678. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-022-05614-0

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured esports posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

Pair this post with the following:

Sit Up, Game On: How Gamer Posture Can Make or Break Your Health by Josh Myers

How Can Esports Impact Sleep? by Marc Lucente

Health and Video Gaming: What about it? by Hallie Raabe

The Line Between Esports and Gaming Addiction by Michelina Ponziani

Teacher and Stress Reliever: From Sonic to Valorant by Joshua Peters