Video gamers have been known to develop Nintendinitis, a diagnosis coined by a medical journal back in 1990 to describe a patient with pain in a thumb tendon after excessive video gaming. That's old hat now, with the introduction of the Wii game, doctors have started to see patients with what they called "Wiiitis" which is characterized by more serious symptoms like fractures, contusions, dislocations, and head injuries.

The ubiquitous Wii interactive game get's the whole body involved, not just the thumbs so it can cause more damage than soreness and tendinitis. In addition, Wii games allow players to participate by moving their hands and arms to swing virtual sports equipment like tennis rackets. These games allow 2 players to play simultaneously, so it's pretty easy to hit the other player in the heat of a competitive match.

Karen Eley of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals in Oxford, England, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports, "Other reported Wii-associated injuries have included traumatic hemothorax (from a fall while playing), dislocations, and head injuries (from being struck accidentally by a gaming partner)."

The Wii Fit game has been touted as a way to get exercise without leaving the living room. It gets people into calorie consuming action that burns calories by using a balance board for the player interface with the game. Wii Fit handheld controls with a pressure-sensitive board about 2 inches off the ground that lets the user try to improve balance. The little device, which resembles a skateboard, allows players to control movements on-screen via balancing movements, twists, and turns. But people can actually take a fall off this board. A healthy 14-year-old girl in the UK suffered a fracture in her right foot when she fell off a Wii Fit balance board.

I see a marketing opportunity for Wii here. Watch for Wii elbow and kneepads and Wii helmets on next years Christmas must-have list.