Size really does matter.. when it comes to hands – for gamers. Pioneering research, led by one of the world’s leading esports physicians, Dr Lindsey Migliore has revealed why packing a punch in the hands department, makes some gamers better than others.
The first-of-its-kind research was commissioned by Stakester, the gaming platform that lets you compete against mates on popular games, to win cash and prizes. It’s hoped the results of the study will help gamers understand their strengths and weaknesses in the hand department, to improve results.
The study, which examined over ninety gamers between the ages of 18 and 44, compared numerous hand measurements vs click speed, mouse or controller agility, dynamometer readings and frequency of games played against players’ level of ability. Some of the most popular games across the UK and US were integral to the study, including Call of Duty, Fifa and Mario Kart.
Designed by Dr Lindsey Migliore, an established Esports physician who is leading a growing area of science to improve esports players’ performance, take better care of their bodies, and prevent them from developing chronic injuries from gaming. Based in the US, Lindsey’s dedication in the field has seen her appear in interviews and on news stations across the US and UK.
The research revealed the definitive hand size for optimum gaming, along with other beneficial qualities that make gamers successful on the controls.
Hand size
Hand measurements examined how specific finger lengths and sizes could impact one’s effectiveness when using a standard mouse or controller for PCs and consoles respectively. This included the tip to the base of index fingers, index finger tip to wrist crease, max finger span and palm breadth.
Interestingly the results showed smaller fingers are desirable for quickness in a small period of time. However, as the amount of time spent moving / clicking increases, longer fingers are able to maintain that speed and be faster. This points toward shorter finger lengths are better for high intensity games such as Mario Kart, and longer finger lengths are better for stamina in longer games, such as CoD and Fifa.
When looking at hand measurements of players who were classed as either “expert” or “very good” gamers, the results concluded the optimum hand size is:
- Tip to the base of index fingers – 7.6cm
- Index finger tip to wrist crease – 18.1cm
- Max finger span – 22.8cm
- Palm breadth – 8.7cm
Dr Lindsey Migliore, who was among one of the first to specialise as a physician in Esports 5 years ago, said: "As more research is being done on video gaming, the science of esports continues to grow. While you can't change your hand size, this study highlights the importance of making sure your controller or mouse is the correct size to maintain those high speeds.”
Speed and focus
According to a recent report, 82% of Gen Z admit that apps and social media distract them in their daily lives. But it’s no surprise that for those who are able to focus, they’re able to reap the benefits when gaming. The research concluded gamers’ ability to focus for given time periods including 5, 30 and 100 seconds proved integral to being a successful gamer.
On the 5-second click test, as index finger length, index + palm length, max finger span and palm breadth increased, click speed decreased. Longer fingers and larger hands move slower on shorter duration tests for small periods of time.
On the 30-second click test, there was no change in click speed across all finger and finger + palm lengths. But as max finger span and palm breadth increased, click speed decreased.
And on the 100-second click test, as index finger length & index finger + palm length increased, click speed increased which shows us longer fingers move faster on longer duration tests for longer periods of time.
The fastest participant, able to click at an average of 8.9 CPS (clicks per second) had a longer index finger at 8cm, with a long max finger span of 24cm. Whereas the slowest participant was able to click at an average of 4.3 CPS, their index finger measured 7cm, with a max finger span of 18cm.
Tom Fairey, CEO of skill-based competition platform Stakester, said: “Gaming performance plays a vital role in the success of our players on Stakester, who are always looking for new ways to win. Commissioning Lindsey, one of the first experts in Esports science and performance, was a crucial part of conducting the research.
"Her in-depth knowledge in compiling the study has produced highly useful results for gamers who can now see how they stack up in the size department. We created the interactive hand measurement tool so gamers can measure their own hands – and better understand how their hands affect performance along with what games will be better suited to their hand size.”
Try it for size, download the ‘perfect hand size’ at here or visit Stakester.com and see how you measure up.
Source: Read Full Article