Last month I wrote a blog evaluating the effects looking down at your cell phone has on your neck and back. Now, I have another question: can texting cause tendonitis in your fingers? I think the answer is a definite yes.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation assessed the texting habits of middle-school and high-school students, and found that they average 95 minutes of texting per day. Dr. Nanavati, an orthopedic specialist, says that, “One of the most common places where we see arthritis from repetitive hand use is at the base of the thumb.” We use our thumbs to text, so seeing pain radiating from there makes sense.
Hand surgeon and associate professor of orthopedic and plastic surgery at UCLA, Prosper Benhaim, MD, says that repeating a specific motion can cause pains in various ways. Moreover, he says, “But thumb typing is very repetitive, and the keys are so small it makes it difficult to navigate around easily. Because it is so small, people are likely to press harder vs. a larger keyboard.” According to Experian, U.S. smartphone users ages 18-24 send an average of 67 texts per day. From my own experience, I know that I send far more than that. The consistent movement of the thumbs stresses the tendons, thus causing joint pain. Even typing this blog on my computer is hurting my thumbs and hands.
Average number of texts sent and received per month
If an experiment were to be conducted on whether or not texting causing tendonitis, I would gather a group of younger people (those not at-risk for tendonitis) and have them fill out a survey evaluating their current texting habits, and then rank the pain (if any) that they feel in their thumbs and hands. Then, I would have them send the average of 67 text messages per day, and make sure they don’t use their thumbs for any other similar, tedious activities. I would run this experiment for six months. At the end of the time period, I would have them take the same survey evaluating their pain, and see if it changed from before the experiment was conducted. If it did, I would have a doctor evaluate them for tendonitis. I think this would yield some interesting results showing that texting may cause tendonitis.
Texting is obviously extremely popular for our generation, but so are video games. I am curious if constantly using your thumbs for an extended period of time during video games may also cause tendonitis. The constant movement of joysticks must cause some wear and tear on the the thumb. There are some studies that feel this is a plausible theory, and i personally feel that over time one could acquire tendonitis from it.