Back away from the crackberry...
For Some, Thumb Pain Is BlackBerry's Stain
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 23, 2005; 12:00 AM
Sandy Boyd's BlackBerry had become her passion. Now it has also become a source of pain.
About three months ago, the National Association of Manufacturers vice president noticed that, as she started to type, the area between her thumb and wrist would begin to throb.
Orthopedists say they are seeing an increasing number of patients with similar symptoms, a condition known as "overuse syndrome" or "BlackBerry thumb." In some patients, the disability has become severe.
Bette R. Keltner, dean of the Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies has been forced to put her BlackBerry down. After two years of constant use, her hands were in so much pain, she had to stop typing. She remembers the trigger point: It was a 10-hour conference one Saturday where she answered about 150 e-mails. "Days later, I was in excruciating pain," she said.
The American Society of Hand Therapists issued a consumer alert in January saying that handheld electronics are causing an increasing amount of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. With that warning, the society included directions on how to properly hold the devices, urging users to take breaks and, if possible, place pillows in their laps so their wrists are in a more upright position.
But at airports and hearing rooms and other places where handheld users while away pauses by thumbing their keyboards, there are no pillows in evidence and very few breaks from the tap-tap-click of e-mailing.
BlackBerry subscribers now total 2.51 million, more than double the 1.07 million subscribers a year ago. Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the disability issue. Some other handheld devices, such as PalmOne Inc.'s Treo and T-Mobile Inc.'s Sidekick phones, use similar thumb-operated keyboards. The small keyboards are tough on hands and wrists, according to Paige Kurtz of the American Society of Hand Therapists.
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 23, 2005; 12:00 AM
Sandy Boyd's BlackBerry had become her passion. Now it has also become a source of pain.
About three months ago, the National Association of Manufacturers vice president noticed that, as she started to type, the area between her thumb and wrist would begin to throb.
Orthopedists say they are seeing an increasing number of patients with similar symptoms, a condition known as "overuse syndrome" or "BlackBerry thumb." In some patients, the disability has become severe.
Bette R. Keltner, dean of the Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies has been forced to put her BlackBerry down. After two years of constant use, her hands were in so much pain, she had to stop typing. She remembers the trigger point: It was a 10-hour conference one Saturday where she answered about 150 e-mails. "Days later, I was in excruciating pain," she said.
The American Society of Hand Therapists issued a consumer alert in January saying that handheld electronics are causing an increasing amount of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. With that warning, the society included directions on how to properly hold the devices, urging users to take breaks and, if possible, place pillows in their laps so their wrists are in a more upright position.
But at airports and hearing rooms and other places where handheld users while away pauses by thumbing their keyboards, there are no pillows in evidence and very few breaks from the tap-tap-click of e-mailing.
BlackBerry subscribers now total 2.51 million, more than double the 1.07 million subscribers a year ago. Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the disability issue. Some other handheld devices, such as PalmOne Inc.'s Treo and T-Mobile Inc.'s Sidekick phones, use similar thumb-operated keyboards. The small keyboards are tough on hands and wrists, according to Paige Kurtz of the American Society of Hand Therapists.
posted by littledevilworks at 8:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home