Afternoon Keynote: Understanding the Injury and Health Profiles of Esports Players

Traditional sports medicine has a long history of research related to the best practices needed to keep players healthy and protected from injuries. But when the New York Institute of Technology launched an esports program, Dr. Hallie Zwibel, the university’s athletic doctor, realized there was very little research about how to protect esports players from physical and mental injuries. His team began surveying players and esports squads at colleges across the country and found that many players were not following simple healthy guidelines such as regular movement, adequate hydration, and good sleep habits. They discovered that the sedentary nature of playing esports resulted in obesity (two thirds of esports players are obese), as well as back and neck pain, shoulder and wrist pain, and eye fatigue. In this keynote, Dr. Zwibel will present tips and best practices to help players and coaches better understand how to minimize the physical (and mental) injuries that can result from esports.