defunct games > five ways to aggravate your carpel tunnel

With all this worry about rumble packs, video games hurting your eyes, and even giving you seizures, one has to wonder, how can this be for my carpel tunnel? Here at Defunct Games we thought we'd bring you a special public service announcement, so perhaps if you are one of the many gamers suffering from this illness, you will not make it worse. So, we give you, the Top Five ways to Aggravate Your Carpel Tunnel! -Cyril Lachel

Five Ways To Aggravate Your Carpel Tunnel

Archive: Top Ten Lists

#5
Street Fighter II with 3-Button Genesis Control

Question: How do you take all the fun and excitement out of the single greatest fighting game of 1993? Answer: Use a three button control! The Super NES pad might have been awkward (I mean, why the hard punch and kick on top?) but really, a three button control (with you switching between punches and kicks by pushing "start") is never the right answer. You've got to believe me that controlling the game with this funky set up is enough to make you curse Shen Long ... whoever that is.

#4
Atari Jaguar Control

Thinking about calling collect, well now you can dial 10-10-220 everytime you play the Atari Jaguar! All joking aside this control is really big, really hard to get your fingers around, and kind of silly looking. Scratch that, it's REALLY silly looking. It feels like you're holding a telephone, and is almost the size of the Lynx. The numerical pad works, but only on a few games . and it's hard to push the right buttons in game. It's just a bulky control. Shame on you Atari!

#3
Game Boy Advance

It's not a terrible looking system, but trying to play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 or Tekken Advance for a long period of time will cause serious problems to your hands. I have never felt hand cramps like I felt while trying to beat everything on Super Mario Kart Advance, and you know, I never want to feel that pain again. The top buttons are almost impossible to reach if you have big hands. This lay out it a total mess.

#2
Sega Master System Control

Okay, okay, okay . the Master System had pretty much the same exact control as the Nintendo Entertainment system, but Sega's was cooler . it was black! Yup, that's the only reason this control is ranked higher than the Nintendo 8 Bit pad! It's just as uncomfortable, just as unforgiving, and just as painful over a long stretch, but it's black. The chord is in a strange spot, also, but that's okay, because the edges aren't as rough. So, Sega wins, only because the color . er, shade. Yeah, that's the ticket!

#1
Nintendo Entertainment System Control

With edges so sharp they can cut through metal, and a size so tiny you'd think it was a joke, the Nintendo Entertainment Systems control won over millions of gamers for much of the latter half of the eighties. Looking back I question why I didn't complain more openly about the size and shape of the control, but then, what's the other option? Sega Master System, it was almost as bad. Come to think of it, I now understand why I ended up buying two N.E.S. Advantage Joysticks. God bless accessories.

Question: What is Carpel Tunnel??

Bounded by bones and ligaments, the carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway - about as big around as your thumb - on the palm side of your wrist. This tunnel protects a main nerve to your hand and nine tendons that bend your fingers. When pressure is put on the nerve - the median nerve - it produces the numbness, pain and, eventually, hand weakness that characterize carpal tunnel syndrome.

Activities such as cigarette smoking and forceful and repetitive use of the hands and wrists also have been linked to the condition. However, the evidence is not clear on exactly which types of activities cause the syndrome. In particular, and contrary to much popularly held belief, there isn't strong scientific evidence to link computer use to carpal tunnel syndrome.