It's finally happened. In twenty odd years of regular game playing I have managed to avoid serious injury (of course, you know, other than the obesity), until now. So what finally did me in? Wii Remote to the face? Kinect tumble into a flatscreen television cutting my beautiful face to crimson ribbons? Believe it or not, it's goddamn Warcraft.

Allow me to explain. At work I sit at a desk all day that has been ergonomically setup by a pretty blonde to suit my back and posture perfectly. At home I have a $30 desk chair from Ikea and a piece of crap desk that's probably too high. After playing incalcuable hours of Warcraft while hunched over my screen during my holiday I've developed Bursitis, which is a rather painful inflamation of the shoulder. I thought I'd injured it doing one of the many manly activities I normally do like weight lifting, rugby or carrying hysterical women from burning buildings. So I stopped doing those things, but after three months it was still sore and I took a trip to the doctor today and found out the joint crippling behaviour was leveling up my Night Elf Rogue in Northrend.

Big deal, you giggle churlishly, just a sore shoulder, change your girly knickers and get back to gaming. Well it seems the treatment for Bursitis is a rather painful steroid injection right into the shoulder. Yes... ouch. So here's my health and safety gaming moment for 2011. If you're PC gaming for any great length of time, be sure to pause at least every 30 minutes and stretch and if possible ensure your desk and chair are ergonomically aligned. Google away, there's hundreds of webpages on how to do this and recommended stretches for desk bound folks. Trust me, you'll be glad you took preventative measures in the long run.