A doctor in Spain diagnosed a new malady caused by a Nintendo Wii videogame. Dr. Julio Bonis of Barcelona’s Research Group in Biomedical Informatics recently published his findings in the New England Journal of Medicine (subscription required).

Bonis discovered ill effects after an intense bout of Wii Sports Tennis, which left him with a painful shoulder injury. When a friend exhibited the same symptoms, the apparent result of a similar penchant for the Wii, Bonis labeled the condition Wiiitis (pronounced "wee-eye-tis) and set out to find an effective treatment.

For determined Wii fans, however, the cure may be worse than the ailment. Bonis prescribes “ibuprofen for one week, as well as complete abstinence from playing Wii video games."

Bonis told Reuters in an e-mail that although he has personally observed very few cases of Wiiitis, he believes that "it is probably an under diagnosed condition."

Nintendo has drawn the attention of the medical community before. A Wisconsin physician in 1990 identified a recurring type of thumb injury brought on by long bouts of pressing buttons on a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) controller. He dubbed the condition "Nintendinitis."

In the case of Wiiitis, Bonis warns that doctors should be prepared for "multiple, possibly puzzling presentations" of the injury, the result of unusual movements and muscle groups that may be involved in playing various Wii Sports simulations.

Bonis told the news agency that he is trying to follow his own advice by practicing moderation in his Wii usage, but "sometimes it's hard to do."