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People are often surprised to learn that their shoulder and neck pain might be related to their phone use. A new syndrome, aptly named "Cellular phone neck" is now recognized as a disorder caused by cradling the telephone between your head and a hunched shoulder in order to use your hands to type, drink coffee or turn a steering wheel or to write. Poor usage habits can lead to discomfort. The best solution is to use a hands-free headset that will free up your hands and let you keep your neck in a upright ( neutral ) position. Text MessagingCanada has seen a 300 % increase in text messaging in the past two years, and with over one million text messages expected to be sent this year, we see a potential strain on thumb muscles and tendons . According to HealthyComputing.com, as the popularity of text messaging continues to soar, a new form of RSI ( Repetitive Strain Injury) has been identified as Text Message Injury or TMI, caused by excessive use of the thumb to type text messages into a cell phone or PDA. Hundreds of tiny repeated movements as people use the cellphone keypad. |
With any type of repetitive activity like gaming or texting, risk of injury to the tendons is increased. We as Physio's advise to be aware of your posture . Limit text time to short bouts of less than 10 minutes and keep muscles long and strong. Maintaining good alignment in the head , neck, and arms while texting, along with stretching before and afterwards can go a long way to reduce the risk of injury. If you do notice discomfort , weakness , pain , the feeling of "pins and needles" do not wait . The earlier you come in for treatment the less damage will be done and the sooner the recovery. Physiotherapy association of BC |