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Beyond making calls, we rely on our phones for texting, news, setting reminders, entertainment and more. Yet many people repeatedly text or scroll with poor form. This can place strain on your fingers, wrists and hand, all the way up to the elbow.
Routine use of a smartphone or tablet can contribute to repetitive strain injuries and joint issues. Here’s what you should know.
Impact of Technology
Routinely texting, scrolling and pushing buttons engages your fine motor skills, increasing risks of a sprain, stiff joints, repetitive strain injury and neck or shoulder issues. Over the years, these injuries have been referred to as “Blackberry thumb”, “gamer hands” and “tech neck”.
While the popularity of home computer use and gaming consoles started growing in the 1990s, the specific actions involved in using a smartphone are a stark contrast from call-only phone usage. Today, the average individual spends five hours on their smartphone.
Smartphone-Related Repetitive Strain Injuries
Engaging in this behavior long term can result in pain and stiffness in the hands, fingers and wrist, carpal tunnel symptoms and back, neck and shoulder issues. Wrist pain is the most common and often stems from an inflamed tendon.
Frequent smartphone-related repetitive strain injuries include:
- Smartphone Pinky: The pinky appears separate from your other fingers, creating a wide gap next to the ring finger. You may also see a bump from how you support your phone.
- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome: Also known as “smartphone elbow,” this condition results from pressure placed on the ulnar nerve in response to repeatedly holding your arm at an angle. Along with pain, your fingers may appear contracted or bent, resulting in “text claw”. This injury stems from sitting in a slumped position while holding your phone or tablet.
- Texting Thumb: This overuse injury inflames the synovium or tissue surrounding the tendons traveling from the wrist to the thumb. You may experience pain and stiffness in this joint and find the condition accelerates the progression of arthritis.
- Tech or Text Neck: This condition relates to how you sit and hold your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Many of us hunch over, which shifts weight away from the core toward the head, neck and shoulders. You may notice increased pain in your neck, muscle spasms or experience a slipped disc.
What You Can Do
Before you need surgery to correct one of the conditions described above:
- Focus on Ergonomics: For computer use, keep the screen at eye level and your feet flat on the ground. For smartphones and tablets, hold your wrists and elbows straight while supporting the device from the sides. When texting, try to place the device on a flat, stable surface and use your fingers, rather than thumbs, to text and play games.
- Stretch: Stretches help lengthen the muscles, support your full range of motion and offer your hands, fingers, wrists and arms a break. Use a resistance band to stretch your hands and wrists forward and back. Also be sure to stand up and move around periodically, adjust your posture and stretch.
- Alleviate Pain: Apply a hot or cold pack to calm any inflammation or massage the area to break up muscle knots. If the pain stems from the thumb, try texting and game-playing with other fingers or switch hands entirely.
- Give Your Hands a Break: Take advantage of the hands-free features on your phone to limit repetitive motions and reduce strain injury risks.
- Know When to Seek Help: Consider physical therapy if you experience numbness, tingling, stiffness and cramping that doesn’t disappear once you’ve put down your device. These symptoms can signal a repetitive strain injury, carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome, nerve damage, tendonitis or arthritis.
The physical therapists at Integrated Rehab can address elbow, wrist and hand injuries and neck strain due to smartphone, tablet and computer use. To learn more, contact us today.