Wii and other video games can cause injuries if you are not careful

If you have kids in the house or even adults, chances are you have video games.  They can be hours of fun, but they're also becoming the source of a lot of pain.

Take the case of 7-year-old Ashley Friedman.  She likes to groove to the music and she isn't shy about showing off her moves.

"I like it just like it because it's just fun."

But it didn't take long for the fun to start hurting.

"I hit the remote on my chin,” she said.

There's the occasional bump here and there, but  Ashley got a lot more than she bargained for while playing Wii's Just Dance 3 with her brother and some friends.

"All of a sudden I heard someone was crying,” said Ashley’s mother, Meghan.  “I came in and she said she hurt her foot."

"It was kind of pinching at first then it started to really, really hurt,” said Ashley.

"We really just thought it was a bruise, not a big deal, but she really couldn't walk on it,” said Meghan.

It turns out Ashley hit her foot on the coffee table and broke it.
 
"Most people think it's kind of  funny that I broke it playing Wii,” said Ashley.

Dr. David Buchalter, an orthopedic surgeon, treated Ashley. He says video game injuries are on the rise.

"While it doesn't seem to be an epidemic it does seem to be that we're seeing these more often,” he said.

Some of those injuries can be pretty bad.

"I once had a patient who was trying to throw 100 mph fast balls with the Wii sports baseball game, was playing that regularly, and developed painful rotator cuff tendonitis of the shoulder,” he said.

"The worst thing I've seen was an injury where someone cut their hand on the ceiling fan and had to have emergency surgery,” said Buchalter.

He says the repetitive motions from playing video games can strain parts of your body, especially your shoulders, arms, and hands and that can often lead to injury.

“The thrill of these games is that they're really fun and that they're addictive, and that people feel like they're getting exercise and activity which is great. But at the same time, just as with any activity, you can overdue it and I think it's important to be mindful of that."

That's why it's important to limit the amount of time you spend playing video games, said Buchalter.  And in cases such as Ashley's it's a good idea to make sure there's enough room to jump around.

Buchalter says it's a good idea to move furniture out of the way, get the toys off the floor, a