Brokeback Slouchin’: Why (And How) Gamers Should Protect Their Spines

It’s a scene we all know by heart: late at night, deep into that final level. An earth-shattering cutscene spells doom as the final boss threatens to send you to bed a broken and defeated gamer. You lean in as closely as possible, refusing to miss a second of the epicness playing out before you. And then…success! The baddy is beaten, the world is saved, and you get enough epic l00tz to last ten lifetimes. Not bad at all, until you wake up in the morning and realize that you’re going to be dealing with chronic back pain for the rest of your life.

Gamer slouching is hardly an innocent crime, even though it stems from the desire to stare attentively at a screen in hopes of not missing a second of action. Prolonged slouching can cause decreased alertness, varicose veins, and joint compression. Sans medical jargon: slouching throws your back out of wack. It’s very easy to tune out friends, family, and even physicians when they talk about “proper posture,” mostly because they try to drown you with facts and figures. No one likes an information overload that leaves you confused and flustered, especially when it involves your health. But gamers really should protect their spines, so here are two basic, streamlined ways to prevent gamer slouching.

While proper posture itself is very important, proper posture while sitting places an equal importance on what you use to sit. Even if you play in short, sporadic bursts, a bean bag or even a recliner just won’t give your back the type of support it needs. While there are an abundance of specialty “gamer chairs” available that give gamers swank accessories built into an already supportive chair, the basic necessities are a high back (relative to your size) and padding for your bottom. Combined, both provide comfort and support for all areas of your spine. Arms on the chair also help.

Proper posture while sitting is another absolute necessity to prevent gamer slouching. Spine Universe has a great article on how to maintain proper posture at all times, including while sitting. But for those that don’t enjoy all the medical jargon (and who really does, right?), the streamlined version is looking at you on your left. Look at that man: huge jaw, huge socks, and a pair of frighteningly short shorts. But he sure looks happy. The fact that his back isn’t crying out for mercy at all hours of the day may have something to do with it.

Most games strain the brain and not the body, despite the advent of the Wii and other self-fitness peripherals and games. Even when you take the Wii and the self-fitness genre into consideration, those games are designed to provide a good, healthy workout that gets you into shape while relieving stress. Deliberate and unwarranted pressure on your spine isn’t an objective in any game I’ve ever heard of, so save yourself the trouble of chronic back pain and stop with the slouching. Long-term comfort is a lot more important than making sure you don’t miss an iota of detail in that super-epic boss battle.