Cell Phone Elbow, And Other Digital Injuries
A story in the news today has convinced me you can now tell who the people are who use more digital devices and games than their peers: they’re the ones looking like this:
It seems our modern electronic conveniences have left no part of the body safe...
• Cell phone elbow – we had a story about this on the newscast tonight.
‘“When cell phone users hold the phone to their ears, they stretch a nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers. When talkers chat for a long time in that position, it chokes the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know, there's tingling in the ring and small finger,’ said Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.” - CNN.COM
• Guitar Hero Knee – I haven’t played this, but apparently the thrashing about that characterizes any electric guitar player worth his spandex is taking a quite a physical toll on a lot of heavy metal wannabe’s. Check out this web site, guitarherobrokemyknee.com, by a guy who did exactly that while taking on a friend in an aggressive game of Guitar Hero:
• Wii Shoulder – My little boys got a Wii for Christmas, and while they’ve steered clear of major injuries so far, I worry about the future.
And we haven’t even mentioned carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s SO ‘90’s. Well, after reading all this, I’m feeling kind of lucky. I don’t talk that much on my cell phone, so my elbow is okay. Don’t have a Blackberry, and my thumbs are in fine shape. We don’t have Guitar Hero, and my kids haven’t gotten off the Wii long enough since Christmas to let me try it. So I’m actually in fine orthopedic shape. Of course, all I do is ACTUAL exercise in the gym, play basketball on a real court, and play a real-life guitar with strings. What a wuss.
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Comments: 5
Jim,
You're not a wuss. You live life the way life should be lived - by experiencing real experiences. I fear for the young people today - they substitute real interactions with superficial and generated interactions. Along the way - they lose socialization skills (being on your pc checking out facebook/ myspace for hours doesn't count), and problem solving skills. Basic life skills. All the while - injuring their elbows and thumbs, etc. Technology is great, and has it's place in society. However, it does not replace people to people interaction.
Cell phone now a day is good for the small size and portability, it is NOT design for comfort when holding like your home wired/wireless phones. So it is not a surprise that you hand and/or fingers will have pain after talking on cell phone for a long time. For this, use either the wired earphone or a bluebooth headset.
The blackberry keyboard give you a better way to enter letters than cell phone, but it is also NOT intended to use for long time, no matter how fun and convenient it is to get in touch with your clients.
I know guitar hero is hot, but don't know you can have injury from it also.
Wii shoulder is not new. It existed like just one month or so after its first release.
The bottom line is, you virtually can get all kind of injuries when you use something too crazy.
yea, well, it is good to know. i guess. but every age or activity has its opposite side. how about some more traditional activities, like fishing, or horse-riding? violin playing - how about his? :) nothing can compare to it.
I got "Cell Phone Elbow" but mine came from volunteering at a Therapeutic Riding Center as a Sidewalker. I thought it was from a bus door crashing into my fingers possibly, but the doctor told me it was from sidewalking. Thanks so much for this information. I couldn't understand how it happened. Now I know it was because all the time my elbow was leaning against the horse as I held the disabled child safely on the horse during classes. I lost feeling in 1 1/2 fingers-the pinky and the ring finger partially. That was in December. I am now getting feeling back in both fingers but I figured out that it was from my elbow losing circulation by the pressure. The doctor said it was possible nerve damage. Thank God I'm healing now. At least I hope so.
I am not a person to stay on the phone for hours, I just don't have that much nonsense to share. To me, the cell phone or the phone in general is a means of communication, both socially and for emergencies. I don't needed to hear others discuss their imtimate lives while I'm riding the bus. Maybe they should get injured exercising their entire bodies instead of holding the phone to their ears and and exercising their only their mouths.