| Users of mobile devices are suffering from repetitive stress injury, a problem computers users are much too familiar with
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Chris Claypool was addicted to his BlackBerry wireless handheld. Like many users, he never thought twice about pecking away at lightning speed, replying to a wave of e-mails from all his clients. Last year, the 37-year-old agricultural sales director noticed a throbbing sensation in his thumbs whenever he typed. He switched to tapping with his index finger, then his middle digit and finally his pinky. But his thumbs pained him to the point where he couldnt even press the buttons on his TV remote control.
After months of aching, Claypool took a break. Now he only uses his BlackBerry to send short messages-typing with the tip of a pencil eraser whenever his thumbs get sore.
"It affects business because I cant whack away on my BlackBerry like I used to," he said. "Its just too painful."
Repetitive motion injuries, which have long afflicted desktop and laptop computer users, are invading the mobile handheld world. Theres even an informal name for the malady- "Black-Berry Thumb" -a catch-all phrase that describes a repetitive stress injury of the thumb as a result of overusing small gadget keypads. Business executives and tech-savvy consumers are increasingly using BlackBerries, Treos, and other devices with miniature keyboards designed for thumb-tapping to stay connected while on the go. And that has some ergonomic and hand experts worried about injuries from overexertion.
"If youre trying to type War and Peace with your thumbs, then youre going to have a problem," warned Alan Hedge, director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University in New York. No statistics exist on how many people suffer from this type of thumb ailment, but some doctors say they are seeing an upswing in related cases. For as long as video gamers have been blasting aliens, so-called "Gamers Thumb" has been a sore spot for them, as well. With tens of millions of portable video game machines on the market, lots of young hands risk digit abuse.
Games for such devices generally include some type of printed warning about injury risks from prolonged playing. A booklet that ships with the Nintendo DS handheld system advises a 10 to 15 minute break for each hour of play, and a break of at least several hours if gamers experience wrist or hand soreness. Specialists say the thumb is among the least dexterous digit and is not meant to be rigorously worked out. For people who insist on typing more than a sentence with their thumbs, external keyboards that connect to the gadgets may be a less painful alternative, said Dr Jennifer Weiss, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Treatment for BlackBerry/Gamers thumb may include wearing a splint and applying ice to the affected area. In certain cases, surgery may be required as a last resort.
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