AOASM Position Statement on Esports, Active Video Gaming, and the Role of the Sports Medicine Physician

Abstract

Electronic sports, or esports, has a global audience of over 300 million fans and is increasing in popularity, resulting in projected revenue of over $1 billion by the end of this past year. The global pandemic of 2020 had little to no effect on these increasing numbers because athletes have been able to continue to engage in sports because of its electronic nature and fans have been able to follow them virtually. Esports has been recognized as an organized sport by the International Olympic Committee, the US National Collegiate Athletic Association, and several secondary school athletic associations within the United States. In addition, professional teams have been established in several major cities within the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. With the growth of esports, the necessity of incorporating esports medicine into the practice of sports medicine physicians has become paramount. Esports can be played on a monitor or screen and played using physical activity in what has become known as active video gaming. Within both of these platforms, there have emerged certain conditions unique to esports. There are also certain conditions seen in other sports applicable to esports athletes. This document will review the evaluation of the esports athlete, introduce conditions unique to these athletes and review common conditions seen in esports, discuss diagnostics used in the evaluation of esports athletes, introduce treatment options for conditions unique to esports and review those for commonly seen injuries in esports, discuss prevention of injuries in esports, and introduce a framework for the future development of esports medicine that can be introduced into the daily practice of the sports medicine physician.

The eSports Medicine: Pre-Participation Screening and Injuries Management—An Update

“…There still is no general agreement about the classification of eSports, but they can be differentiated into specific genres such as multiplayer online battlefield arena (MOBA), first-person shooters (FPS), real-time strategy (RTS), or sports simulations [ 5 ]. Others classified them as shooter, band simulation, dance simulation, and fitness categories [ 7 ]. In every genre, different digital games can be found, and played through various platforms (e.g., computers, consoles, mobile, or virtual reality), with different mechanics and competition rules [ 14 ].…”

“…Nowadays professional clubs from different sports such as football, basketball, and F1 racing are increasingly getting involved in eSports to extend their recognition, setting up their e-teams to compete for national and international titles. Scientific literature described several benefits of eSports [ 7 , 16 , 17 ]: No gender differences Improvement of the health and well-being of sedentary individuals Group participation and competition regardless of location Promotion of physical activity for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities Enhancement of cognitive development and school achievement Enhancement of social interaction Improvement of fine motor skills and visual processing Promotion of an effective rehabilitation. …”

“…However, some harmful effects are still described [ 7 , 16 , 17 ]: Potential treatments to child safety Inappropriate content Exposure to violence Bullying Internet addiction Reduction of moderate/vigorous physical activity Displacement from active social life and interactions Exposure to junk food advertising Sleep deprivation Vision complaints Musculoskeletal overuse. …”

“…ESport, as a sport discipline, is growing in recognition worldwide. In China, it has been already defined as a sports activity since the beginning of the 2000s and will be an official competitive sports event in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou 2023 [ 7 ]; in the USA, eAthletes have been considered professional players since 2013. The phenomenon is so widespread that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accepted eSports as a sport in 2017 and there have been speculations about their introduction in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games [ 3 , 8 ].…”

Analysis of Musculoskeletal Injuries Among Collegiate Varsity Electronic Sports Athletes

“…These risk factors for musculoskeletal injury help explain why injury rates are high despite the lack of trauma. Moreover, esports players have an increased risk of circadian rhythm changes and resultant insomnia from constant blue light emission, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, and other mental health issues [ 20 ]. While these studies are important risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries, there must be a stronger research emphasis on the physical health of these athletes as the overall industry and number of college programs and scholarships are only trending upwards.…”