According to Dr. Levi Harrison, an orthopedic hand and upper extremity surgeon, esports players undergo pain and constant pressure more than any other traditional sports player. Not considered at the plain sight but sitting down 10-hour training sessions straight away and taking your hand to the threshold can inflict serious damage in the longer run.

Many young talents drop out of high school to take a shot at the pro scene, their grades suffer, and if they couldn’t make to the top, they suffer financially as well. But worst case scenario is if they let their health suffer.

Esports’ most common injuries include repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow and trigger finger. The injuries as they are caused by repetitive motions are fully preventable, but the time and effort put in by players don’t allow them to put their hand at rest.

Last year League of Legends star Hai Lam had to retire following a serious wrist injury. The inflammation was there the whole time but ignoring it was the big mistake done by Lam. Other notable players like olofmeister and GuardiaN also underwent injuries and were sidelined for brief periods, luckily, they recovered and had their careers saved.

Warm up and warm down sessions in esports training manual are very unlikely and little they do to maintain their most worked body parts. Levi Harrison deals with all kinds of sports injuries and after MMA fighters his next common customers are esports players. He suggests simple instructions prevent a slaughter on the palm, wrists, and elbows.

First is, 5 minutes’ break in every hour

Resting your hand for 5 minutes after every one hour will relax the strain and prevent ruptures in the future and it will also re-regulate the blood flow. So, in a session of 7-hour training, you get a break of 30 minutes, which is the minimum requirement.

The warm water exercise

In longer practice sessions, say 10 hours, the hand needs more than just rest. Performing the shown exercises while placing your hand in warm water will provide you durability and resistance to injuries. Continue to perform the set actions for 2 minutes.

Shake out the hands for 2 minutes

The next thing you can do is to shake your hands freely for a couple of minutes, this will relieve the nerves after a rigorous session. The repetitive movements tend to stiffen the palm and can cause blood flow issues.

Tennis elbow exercises

These simple exercises can be performed before going into training or a match. Do each position for 30 seconds approx. These will help in limiting injuries to the tennis elbow and palm joints.

The final step,

Thorough massaging of fingers, wrist joint, and palm

Using the thumb of the other hand, simply massage the palm muscles, finger joints, tips of the fingers and wrist joints for 1 minute and repeat it every one hour.

For a durable career, the mind needs the body, and it’ll be a tough run if the body fails. These exercises can increase your action per minute, speed, and efficiency and on top of all, it makes you less prone to injuries. As players continue to press the boundaries of top-level competitive play, it’s critical that teams and players are proactive in treating and preventing these devastating injuries.