Sim racing injuries

I seem to have developed stenosing tenosynovitis ("trigger finger") in a little finger (or pinky, if you prefer). Anyone else suffer with that, or have any tips to avoid? (Actually I suppose not having any tips is a solution in itself...) I think it's too much H-pattern recently, so one hand on the wheel compensates with grip of death.

Any stories of sim racing injuries? I suppose DD wheels and wrists can be a bad combo :cautious: I can feel sciatica setting in after a while. Hope I don't have to dig out the G25 pedals to fix that :D
 
I know people with wrist injuries or even broken fingers (DD wheel, surprising collisions and F1 style wheel)

Exactly what happened to me yesterday, I was driving with the ClubSport steering wheel and I lost it. Luckily enough I just got hit on one finger, it did hurt for a few minutes but nothing more. I can see someone breaking a finger though.
 
I found this thread and following a recent discussion we had here I thought it might be good to write about my sim-racing injury.

It was a Friday night when I found an Assetto Corsa Key for something like 3 euros.
Downloaded, installed and launched the game without big expectations given it's age and the fact I was already playing ACC.
But the FFB of AC on my DD1 blew my mind!
The weekend that followed I had a lot of free time and I put something like 15 hours on the game.
Sunday night and just 10 minutes before shutting everything down and going to sleep, I drive a 911 GT3 and brake hard with my Sprints(only 30kg of brake force).
Suddenly, and without any warning or the slightest annoyance, I push the brake and I have a cracking feeling in my left knee followed by extreme pain that obliged me to quit the game instantly(I was leading the race:()
For the next 2-3 days I could barely walk(strong pain, cracking sounds, slight sense of instability) and after 10 days of completely quiting any physical activity my knee was still in pain.
I decided to visit a doctor(he was laughing when I described him how the accident occured:D) who examined me and found that my knee has liquid and a heavy inflammation as well.
He suggested complete stop of any sport or physical activity and prescribed me some anti-inflammatory pills.
Almost two months after the accident my knee was still in pain.
Definitely less, but enough to make me avoid every unnecessary walking.
And off course not even think of sim-racing.
The next step was an MRI which showed that I had a partial lesion of the medial ligament which does not need any kind of operation or intervention according my doctor.
He suggested to rest and do some physiotherapy sessions once the pain goes away.
Now we are on 3 months after the initial accident and my knee is still in pain.
I am able to do some 20 minutes walking sessions every second day and off course deal successfully with all my daily activities(driving, shopping etc.)
But I can feel that any sport or something that will put stress on my knee is forbidden. And I don't even want to think of touching this brake with my left foot.
I am a patient person and I will give my knee the necessary time to heal but I definitely plan to get a second opinion.

Till then I am doing some right foot braking cause I couldn't stay away from sim-racing anymore.
My new racing activities are not trouble free cause my right knee is not as strong as the injured left one.
It had a meniscus surgery 3 years ago and a permanent patella chondropathy.
So it 'does not like' the fact that now it has to do all the job(throttle+brake) so I have to be cautious.
Not doing long racing sessions and trying to be gentle on the pedals.
Dropped the resistance of my throttle to minimum and set my brake at 15kg.(I wish it had less!)
I also have to give it some days off but not long periods of inactivity as it has to be active to not 'loose the habit'.
As you can imagine, racing under these circumstances is not great but it still can be fun. And definitely better than nothing.
A chance to fine-tune my settings as well by doing some non competitive practice/hot lapping sessions.
But I couldn't never imagine that I can get injured playing video games. So while it's frustrating it also has an hilarious part.
 
I seem to have developed stenosing tenosynovitis ("trigger finger") in a little finger (or pinky, if you prefer). Anyone else suffer with that, or have any tips to avoid? (Actually I suppose not having any tips is a solution in itself...) I think it's too much H-pattern recently, so one hand on the wheel compensates with grip of death.

Any stories of sim racing injuries? I suppose DD wheels and wrists can be a bad combo :cautious: I can feel sciatica setting in after a while. Hope I don't have to dig out the G25 pedals to fix that :D

I also suffer from trigger finger in the little finger of my left hand. Your post has helped me by informing me of the correct medical name. Thanks. I’m going to try a splint to see if that helps.
 
Interesting subject, thanks for the post @lukester1975 :thumbsup:

Haven't had an injury I could put down solely to sim racing, though after reading @Fastard 's post (get well soon mate!) thought I'd chip in, aka, waffle. It's arthritis season, so a good few of us 'more mature':p types take supplements (Glucosamine, Turmeric for joints, anti-dioxants etc) and adjust diet/behaviour accordingly to keep joints juicy. Nevertheless I've had wrists and thumbs that have needed strapping up for a while, which was a lesson in getting driving position spot-on.

Even in reasonable health (at any age), sim racing is a prime candidate for causing a RSI (repetitive strain injury) related condition (one of my sons has RSI at 33 from gaming:rolleyes:). Exactly as Fastard mentioned... sat for hours in the same position, same body movements, restricted in other ways (tight seat etc) at some point it's likely some of us will pay a price for it.

I guess this is stating the obvious, but to 'pay back' those hours in front of our rigs, perhaps we should be exercising those parts of our body that are particularly abused by sim racing. Pick something fun to do so you'll stick at it. I enjoy Tai Chi - it suits old farts, and I can pretend to be Ip Man for a fleeting moment.

Lastly, at the end of a race when we all crash into each other at warp speed for a laugh, spare a thought for the wrists 'n thumbs of DD users:p
 
Lastly, at the end of a race when we all crash into each other at warp speed for a laugh, spare a thought for the wrists 'n thumbs of DD users:p
It's absolutely no joke. Had a friend over a few times in the last weeks, and he hasn't got my memo of "if the car is tumbling, falling down a cliff or anything similar... better let go of the wheel" yet, and tries to wrestle it :confused: No injury yet, but as last time he got fond of the 917/30, it's like only a question of time...
 
Bought a accuforce v2 hit the wall at the cutting at Bathurst wheel at full strength and FFB 100% stupid me never let go, got some soft tissue damage and now i have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. ADVICE let go of the wheel like a race driver would when hitting a wall at speed.
 
Often asked myself exactly this question... do DD wheel users have more injuries than "standard" wheel users?
Specialy, because falling through ground or crashing into something often results in crazy wheel spin... :confused:
 
One time I guess I got a bad grip coming round a turn in DR2 and pulled a muscle in my left wrist. I managed to finish the stage mainly using my right arm but still used my left a little and it felt pretty cool and immersive or something. I tried to do the next stage but it hurt too much a few turns in and it was a stupid idea anyways.
The wrist took a few days to heal.
 
This is an interesting read. I am suffering from De Quevains Tenosynovitis which is an inflammation of the sheath around the tendons coming from the base of the thumb. Started noticing issues in my right hand when I upgraded from a G29 to a CSL Elite. Had the FFB turned up as I loved the extra detail I was getting. Started with problems bending the index finger in the morning. I carried on racing and I started to notice a pain at the base of my thumb as it connects to the wrist on the same hand. This only became worse. First thing in the morning I had seriously restricted movement in my hand and wrist. Sharp pains in my wrist, hand and running up my arm. As I’m predominantly right handed, it effected everything I did. Stopped racing but I was unable to give it the rest it needed. Went to a specialist where he diagnosed De Quervains. Had a steroid injection in April, a month later I was pain free. Got back into the sim but a month after that the pain started again and now, 6 weeks on I’m waiting for another injection and the possibility of surgery if it doesn’t work. I’m nearly 50 so I probably don’t heal as quickly as I used to but giving up racing is now a distinct possibility.
 
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This is an interesting read. I am suffering from De Quevains Tenosynovitis which is an inflammation of the sheath around the tendons coming from the base of the thumb. Started noticing issues in my right hand when I upgraded from a G29 to a CSL Elite. Had the FFB turned up as I loved the extra detail I was getting. Started with problems bending the index finger in the morning. I carried on racing and I started to notice a pain at the base of my thumb as it connects to the wrist on the same hand. This only became worse. First thing in the morning I had seriously restricted movement in my hand and wrist. Sharp pains in my wrist, hand and running up my arm. As I’m predominantly right handed, it effected everything I did. Stopped racing but I was unable to give it the rest it needed. Went to a specialist where he diagnosed De Quervains. Had a steroid injection in April, a month later I was pain free. Got back into the sim but a month after that the pain started again and now, 6 weeks on I’m waiting for another injection and the possibility of surgery if it doesn’t work. I’m nearly 50 so I probably don’t heal as quickly as I used to but giving up racing is now a distinct possibility.
Sorry to hear that Stuart, time to turn the ffb right down I guess:cautious:
 
I seem to have developed stenosing tenosynovitis ("trigger finger") in a little finger (or pinky, if you prefer). Anyone else suffer with that, or have any tips to avoid? (Actually I suppose not having any tips is a solution in itself...) I think it's too much H-pattern recently, so one hand on the wheel compensates with grip of death.

Any stories of sim racing injuries? I suppose DD wheels and wrists can be a bad combo :cautious: I can feel sciatica setting in after a while. Hope I don't have to dig out the G25 pedals to fix that :D
Hey, I have exactly the same problem! using no h-pattern, but had some longer GT4 stints and afterwards I first observed this issue. Are you still suffering with that or did you find a solution? I'll try to tape my wheel to get more pressure to the joints of the middle and ring finger, because the "triggering" disapears if I give a slight pressure onto those joints from palm side.
 
I also suffer from trigger finger in the little finger of my left hand. Your post has helped me by informing me of the correct medical name. Thanks. I’m going to try a splint to see if that helps.
hey, I have the same problem. did you find a solution? how did you use the splint (cant really imagine how that should work for me?) thx
 
Great thread! Thanks @lukester1975

I am pretty sure that my current knee annoyance is also simracing related. Think i need to get rid of the clutch pedal (that i never use) and place the brake and throttle equally spaced from eachother in my rig.

Or I am just getting old :D
 

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