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Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Blackberry use 'can damage thumb'

Filed under: etc.


Blackberry is not a medical device, at least not yet. The reason we mention Blackberry is because blackberryitis is here:

Users of the BlackBerry, dubbed "crackberries" because they are so addictive, commonly send 500 texts a day, with their thumbs often doing most of the work.

Sean Hughes, the professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London, said that such frantic use of the thumb would inevitably cause problems.

"The thumb works differently from the other fingers. It's designed for picking up things. There's a joint at the bottom of the thumb that allows it to flex and rotate, so when people are bashing away at their mobiles the thumb is moving in different dimensions," he said.

"But all this movement can cause problems compared with the fingers, which only have to move up and down."

Prof Hughes said that the reality of "BlackBerry thumb" was probably rather more prosaic than sufferers realised. "They could be coming down with what is effectively early osteoarthritis," he said.

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replies: 3 comments
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You're telling me, the Blackberry devices are so addictive. I swear about half of the riders on the bus to and from work are using their Blackberry - funny and sad at the same time.


Posted by: BlackBerry
on June 8, 2005 10:49 PM GMT

It's not just for Blackberry users! I work for a large wireless provider in a retail store and I, as well as my co-workers, spend a majority of the day (shifts are usually a minimum of 8.5 hrs/day) having to press the alpha-numberic keypads to program phones, to show users how to use a variety of features, and it is also REQUIRED to demo text messaging to every potential cellphone customer or Blackberry user, multiply the hours with the number of customers (low avg of 25/day) with no breaks except lunch, and often those are decreased to 15min-30min, especially around the holidays, and let's see how much of an increase this problem exists - at least the users can most often CHOSE whether or not to use their device, whereas a store rep cannot. I bet most of these injuries are not reported to their employer, either - one co-worker did not because she said the time to PROVE the injury is work related to a WC Insurance adjuster is not worth the PAIN associated, so she filed under her insurance and had wrist surgery to elieviate the pain. I applaude the carriers who use the SIM card or OTA programming of customer phones, this is a smart step to help prevent this type of injury. OSHA also needs to step up to the plate, this work-duties are quickly becoming a safety hazard! We NEED more studies done.


Posted by: clio
on September 14, 2006 03:11 PM GMT

As an alternative to repetitive thumb strain, try typing with your index fingers on the screen of a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or PDA phone. Phraze-It software creates large touch screen buttons for typing with your index fingers. Not only are the buttons large, but there is enough room on the screen for viewing and editing at least 6 lines of text.

Phraze-It is a computer keyboard for typing with your index fingers right on the screen on your Pocket PC. Typing with your fingers on the large keys is easy, comfortable and accurate.


Posted by: Dan
on November 15, 2006 04:08 AM GMT