Rehab

Survey: Text messaging damaging thumbs

Rehab Regs, March 3, 2006

A survey by Virgin Mobile reported that text messaging on cell phones causes 3.8 million cases of repetitive strain injuries per year in Great Britain, according to the Daily Colonial in Washington, D.C.

Virgin estimates that Americans send more than 700 million text messages each year and that number is rising. The survey found that most of the pains are minor and start in the thumb, but sometimes move up from the hand and wrist to elbows and shoulders.

Because the injuries are caused by overuse, taking breaks and stretching the fingers used to text may be the best bets for reducing the risks involved with texting.

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