Phones affect our physical health

A few years ago, my best friend texted me to confess that she was worried about her texting. Her hands and fingers ached all day and her discomfort worsened when she used her smartphone. Was it possible that her incessant texting about fatherhood and politics was the cause?

There is not much research yet on the effects that smartphone use can have on our bodies. “We don’t know much,” said Jessica B. Schwartz, a New York-based physical therapist who is a spokeswoman for the American Physical Therapy Association. However, she and the doctors I spoke with said they were seeing more patients than ever with pain, as well as joint and soft tissue ailments such as tendonitis in the fingers, thumbs, wrists, elbows, necks, shoulders, and upper back ( and that mobile phones most likely had something to do with it).

When we text to friends or surf the web on our phones, we often use our muscles and joints in ways that strain them, Schwartz said. Looking down at the phone, as well as holding it in our hands with our wrists bent while we scroll or type, requires our joints and muscles to do things other than what their evolution dictates: being in the same posture for a long time time, hold a lot of weight, and move repeatedly in a short range of motion.

These positions and movements can put “undue stress” on joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments “that just aren’t used to being in that position for a long time,” said Renee Enriquez, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Southwestern Medical Center. from the University of Texas at Dallas. Over time, these actions can cause inflammation, which can lead to pain and other problems, she mentioned.

Not all doctors are aware of these risks. When my friend saw her GP about her hand pain, she underwent x-rays and blood tests and was told that she did not have arthritis. When she asked if her smartphone could be causing the pain, her doctor said it was unlikely. She then saw another doctor, who ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome, and eventually went to an orthopedic hand specialist, who laughed and said, “No,” when she asked (again) if her cell phone might be on. contributing to your pain.

But Schwartz commented that my friend’s symptoms were consistent with those of tendinitis (an inflammation of the bundles of fibrous tissue that attach muscles to bone called tendons) or tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the lining of the tendon sheath. Studies have linked thumb tenosynovitis, which is called de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, to frequent smartphone use. Cell phone use may also worsen symptoms among people who already have arthritis. The doctor told me that although the so-called “cell phone pinky” is not a recognized disease, using your pinky to support the weight of your mobile could lead to problems.

Signs of future trouble

In addition to the pain that can be caused by inflammation of ligaments, joints, muscles, tendons and their coverings, people can experience serious cell phone injuries. Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, an orthopedic hand surgeon at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said she has seen patients sprain their thumbs from gripping their phones too hard.

Frequent cell phone use can also affect the nerves. When we hold our phone in front of us with our elbows bent, we compress the ulnar (or ulnar) nerve, which runs from the neck to the hand. This tightness can cause numbness and weakness in the little and ring fingers, Schwartz said.

More generally, when any muscle, tendon or ligament becomes inflamed due to smartphone use, it can become swollen, which squeezes the nerves that run through it and causes pain or numbness, Enriquez said. Cell phone use could also exacerbate pre-existing nerve problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, Wolf added. In addition, you also have to consider the strain that smartphones can cause on your eyes and the effect that blue light can have on your sleep cycles.

“Text neck” is another term you may have heard. Consider what happens when you slouch down to look at your phone: Compared to holding your head straight, this crouched position increases the force exerted by your neck muscles and cervical vertebrae by a factor of four or five, said Jason M. Cuellar, a orthopedic spine physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and at JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. Cuellar noted that excess force can weaken the ligaments in the spine over time and cause pain. A 2017 study found a link between texting and chronic neck, shoulder, and upper back pain, though other studies have found no connection.

The cervical vertebrae of some young Cuellar patients are also twisted in abnormal ways. He also opined that this could be related to frequent smartphone use and could increase the risk of back problems. “We think this causes accelerated disc degeneration,” she said, referring to the deterioration of spinal discs, little shock absorbers that sit between vertebrae to help us move comfortably. “We are seeing more young people, in their 20s and 30s, with cervical vertebrae problems.”

How to reduce stress

What should you do if your phone is causing you pain, or if you’re worried that it might in the long run? Although my friend’s doctors ruled out the idea that her cell phone was somehow linked to the pain in her hands; eventually she got rid of her oversized smartphone and bought a smaller one to see if that would help. She also started using a dictation option to reduce the strain on her fingers. Her pain quickly disappeared.

Schwartz agreed that switching to a smaller, lighter phone might be a good idea if you have small hands, and that the dictation tool can ease pain by reducing stress on your fingers. She and Enriquez also recommend grips and stands like those made by PopSocket and Moft, which can take much of the strain out of holding a phone in your fingers; specifically, with the thumbs. Cuellar mentioned that it might be helpful to use a stand that holds your phone at eye level, so you don’t strain your neck when looking at it.

If you’re experiencing a lot of pain, it’s a good idea to see a physical therapist or a specialized doctor, such as an orthopedist or physical medicine specialist, as they can recommend treatments and stretches, Schwartz said. “If you catch these things early, they don’t tend to become chronic,” she pointed out.

However, if something causes you pain, the simplest solution is to stop overdoing it. In other words, Wolf concluded, “the best advice would be: put down your phone.” (YO)

(Science Times)