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Wrist extensor fatigue and game-genre-specific kinematic changes in esports athletes: a quasi-experimental study
Chuck Tholl1, Lasse Hansen2, Ingo Froböse3
1Institute of Movement Therapy and Movement-oriented Prevention and Rehabilitation, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany. c.tholl@dshs-koeln.de.
Background:
Muscular fatigue critically affects health, performance, and safety in daily activities and sports. Esports or competitive gaming involves prolonged sitting and repetitive upper extremity movements, increasing the risk of muscular fatigue. Sustained activity may contribute to long-term musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Despite this risk, biomechanical analyses in esports remain limited. This study examines muscular fatigue and wrist kinematics in esports athletes across different video game genres.
Methods:
Thirty-two healthy male esports athletes (23.8 ± 3.4 years) participated in two 90-120-minute competitive video gaming sessions, separated by a 10-minute passive sitting break. Surface electromyography (EMG) of the upper trapezius and wrist extensors, as well as wrist kinematics, were recorded. The median frequency (MDF) and root mean square (RMS) were used to quantify muscular fatigue. Statistical analyses included mixed ANOVA, one-way repeated measures ANOVA, and robust ANOVA with Bonferroni correction.
Results:
Repeated measures ANOVA indicated significant decreases in the MDF and RMS of the wrist extensors over time (p < 0.001). For the upper trapezius, only the right-side MDF showed a significant decrease over time; however, post-hoc analysis did not confirm this effect. Mixed ANOVA revealed no interaction between time and video game genre on kinematic data. First-person shooter players exhibited significantly greater cumulative distances (p = 0.006) and velocity zero-crossings (p = 0.043) than multiplayer online battle arena players in robust ANOVA.
Conclusions:
The findings indicate a progressive increase in wrist extensor fatigue over time, whereas wrist kinematics vary by video game genre but remain unaffected by time. The lack of neuromuscular recovery post-break suggests the potential for cumulative muscular fatigue. These repetitive loads could increase the risk of MSD. Therefore, implementing preventive training strategies and regular active breaks may help mitigate these effects in esports athletes.
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