Stop Texting With Your Thumbs. And Other Ways to Avoid Smartphone Injury
Our phones might feel like extensions of our arms but it seems like excessive phone use isn’t going down well with our bodies - with increasing numbers of people complaining of pain in their fingers, arms and wrists.
In fact, there are actual medical conditions which can be caused by mindless swiping.
So, we’ve scoured medical disciplines from around the world to bring together three leading experts to reveal:
The risks and types of injuries caused by phone use
The warning signs you should look out
7 Tips to avoid injury
Video clips of exercises if you’re feeling pains in your fingers, wrists or arms
The full, detailed answers by the medical professionals can be read in our Health Matrix.
And here are 7 gadgets to help you hold your phone less.
Our Trio of Experts
What Injuries Can be Caused by Phone Use?
Our trio are cautious not to cause alarm - “I do not believe smartphone use causes irreversible damage to hands,” says Paul Girard - but they do say they have seem injuries related to excessive phone use, especially in unnatural postures.
Tendonitis: “ Smart phone overuse can lead to conditions called tendonitis - which is inflammation of the tendons, that are like the ropes that move your fingers,” says Dr Kakar. “I’ve seen many patients, from young to old, who have presented with these overuse tendonitis syndromes like DeQuervain tenosynovitis which is inflammation of the tendons that run on the side of your thumb. These patients may have swelling in the wrist adjacent to this area with exquisite pain and tenderness over the thumb side of the wrist that prevents them from doing simple activities such as lifting or twisting.“
Arthritis?: Paul Girard and Dr Chen say there’s no evidence that phone use itself could cause arthritis, but Chen points out the risk of exacerbating “arthritis at the base of the thumb - commonly known as: CMC arthritis or basal joint arthritis”. Dr Kakar cautions that repeated thumb use could lead to “earlier wear-and-tear of the lining of the joint that can lead to pain and loss of mobility of the thumb base joint”.
Nerve compression?: Dr Chen also notes could exacerbate “compression of the nerves of the wrist - like Carpal tunnel syndrome or Cubital tunnel syndrome”.
What Are the Warning Signs?
According to our experts, the main indications that your phone might be harming you are:
Pain and swelling on your wrist on the same side as your thumb: this could indicate DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis, says Dr Karkar. “Pain onset where there was none before is a danger signal,” note Paul Girard. “Typically, people feel pain on the ‘thumb side’ of the wrist.”
Numbness and tingling in the thumb, index, long and half of your ring finger: carpal tunnel like symptoms, says Dr Karkar, which “may get better at first by shaking the hand but over time, symptoms can progress to happening at night, driving, holding a phone etc. They can also lose fine co-ordination like doing their shirt buttons or muscle mass by their thumb in advanced cases.”
Tingling and numbness that keeps you awake at night: according to Dr Chen, this “may be a sign that you are getting nerve compression.”
7 Tips For Avoiding Injury
The trio suggest:
Text with your index fingers and not thumbs - and alternate which fingers you use
Limit phone usage time: rather than constantly checking your it, set up some ground rules like check your phone for 5-10 minutes every 2 hours
Use hands-free options like voice-activated software
Don’t use the phone whilst lying down
Don’t hold the phone to your ear for long periods of time - which can put a strain on the nerve at your elbow. One way to avoid this is to hold the phone in your hand instead and have it supported by the table
Keep changing your body’s posture: “avoiding a sedentary lifestyle where we are in frequent ‘unnatural’ static positions with our wrists/digits is a fantastic way to counteract tendonosis,” says Paul Girard
Keep your soft tissue healthy: with frequent and moderate aerobic exercises such as walking, hiking, riding a bike and swimming. Ideally aim to do this at least three times a week, even just for half an hour, notes Paul Girard.
If You Do Have Pains… Here Are Some Funky Exercises
The hand team at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have kindly put together some exercises if you are experiencing pain - for each of the three core areas:
If Your Phone Causes Pain At Your Wrist Joint
If Your Phone Causes Pain Down Your Arm
If Your Phone Causes Finger Pain
>> For the deep-dive on smartphone injury - read our Health Matrix - with the full, uncut answers from our three experts >>
