People who like to play mahjong, poker games or other board games during the Lunar New Year holiday are advised to stand up and walk around from time to time due to the health risks associated with sitting for a long time, a physical therapist said.
Lee Chang-han (李昌翰), a physical therapist at Cathay General Hospital in New Taipei City, said that common symptoms of prolonged sitting include muscle inflammation, backache, shoulder and neck stiffness, indigestion, dizziness and numb feet, while it could worsen cardiovascular disease and even cause bladder inflammation or other problems.
People with a history of heart disease or high blood pressure should pay more attention to the health risks associated with sitting for a long time, Lee added.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
As a person playing games generally keeps their arms fixed within a certain range and repeatedly bends and raises them, it is easy to cause muscle fatigue, which can lead to inflammation of the tendons, Lee said.
A person’s back muscles can tighten if they sit in the same position for a long period, Lee said.
“Playing mahjong or poker games can also easily result in excessive use of the muscles in the back of the neck ... [producing] a deep dull pain due to lack of oxygen,” he said.
Dizziness and numbness in the feet are mainly caused by sitting for a long time, Lee said.
“Blood circulation ... will be hindered, which can easily cause coldness and numbness in the lower limbs. When a person stands up suddenly after sitting for a long time, they often feel dizzy due to the change of posture,” he said.
Meanwhile, sitting for long periods reduces slows gastrointestinal peristalsis, he said.
That, coupled with irregular mealtimes or overeating during the Lunar New Year holiday, can cause indigestion, gastric ulcers and other digestive system problems, Lee said.
When playing games, people with a history of heart disease and high blood pressure tend to get overly excited or agitated, which increases their risk of a stroke, angina, heart attack or other serious events, Lee said.
Many people often do not urinate as often as they should when playing games, Lee said, adding that this can cause a urinary tract infection and bladder inflammation.
“When playing games, people should choose a chair of appropriate height to avoid hunching over. It is recommended they leave the chair for 10 minutes every hour,” Lee said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS