TY - JOUR
T1 - Musculoskeletal pain is common in competitive gaming
T2 - a cross-sectional study among Danish esports athletes
AU - Lindberg, Line
AU - Nielsen, Simon Bay
AU - Damgaard, Mads
AU - Sloth, Ole Rolskov
AU - Rathleff, Michael Skovdal
AU - Straszek, Christian Lund
PY - 2020/8/28
Y1 - 2020/8/28
N2 - Objectives The interest for competitive esports is growing. Little is known regarding musculoskeletal (MSK) pain among esports athletes. We aimed to investigate (1) the prevalence of MSK pain, (2) the association between MSK pain and esports-related training volume and (3) the association between MSK pain and physical activity levels.Methods Athletes aged 15textendash35 years who participated in structured esports through a computer-based game were eligible for inclusion. Participant demographics, hours/week spent on esports, self-report MSK pain sites, pain frequency, sleep, care-seeking behaviour and physical activity levels were collected through online questionnaires. The primary outcome was any MSK pain in the body during the previous week.Results Of 188 included athletes, 42.631.3. Athletes with MSK pain participated in significantly less esports training compared with athletes without MSK pain (mean difference -5.6~hours/week; 9510.6 to -0.7, p=0.035). There was no significant difference in physical activity levels between groups (mean difference 81.1~metabolic equivalent of task-minutes/week; 951266.9 to 1429.1, p=0.906).Conclusion Back pain is common among esports athletes. Athletes with MSK pain participated in less esports training compared with those without pain, suggesting a potentially negative effect of pain on esports participation.
AB - Objectives The interest for competitive esports is growing. Little is known regarding musculoskeletal (MSK) pain among esports athletes. We aimed to investigate (1) the prevalence of MSK pain, (2) the association between MSK pain and esports-related training volume and (3) the association between MSK pain and physical activity levels.Methods Athletes aged 15textendash35 years who participated in structured esports through a computer-based game were eligible for inclusion. Participant demographics, hours/week spent on esports, self-report MSK pain sites, pain frequency, sleep, care-seeking behaviour and physical activity levels were collected through online questionnaires. The primary outcome was any MSK pain in the body during the previous week.Results Of 188 included athletes, 42.631.3. Athletes with MSK pain participated in significantly less esports training compared with athletes without MSK pain (mean difference -5.6~hours/week; 9510.6 to -0.7, p=0.035). There was no significant difference in physical activity levels between groups (mean difference 81.1~metabolic equivalent of task-minutes/week; 951266.9 to 1429.1, p=0.906).Conclusion Back pain is common among esports athletes. Athletes with MSK pain participated in less esports training compared with those without pain, suggesting a potentially negative effect of pain on esports participation.
U2 - 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000799
DO - 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000799
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2055-7647
VL - 6
JO - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
JF - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
IS - 1
M1 - e000799
ER -