Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/07/29/sms_health_problems/
Excessive texting 'damages your health'
A text a day won't keep the doctor at bay
Posted in Networks, 29th July 2008 11:29 GMT
Sore neck? Aching thumbs? Creaking wrists? The cause may not be too many hours sat at the keyboard, but excessive texting - a physiotherapy body warns.
According to The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), text message injuries are especially common among the young. It recently surveyed 177 people aged between 16 and 24 and found that 34 per cent send 20 or more text messages each day.
Such a high volume of texting can lead to serious physical injuries, including “discomfort” in the hands while texting. Pain in the wrists, arms, neck and shoulders is another sure sign that you’re an SMS addict.
Bronwyn Clifford, a CSP spokeswoman, says phones aren’t ergonomically designed for excessive texting and that “too much texting can result in pain and swelling of the tendons at the base of the thumb and wrist”.
The number of text messages sent each week in the UK has grown by 30 per cent since 2007, according to the Mobile Data Association. It now estimates that 1.4bn SMS messages are sent in Blighty every day.
The CSP has created a five-step guide to safer texting, which it hopes SMS addicts will follow if they wish to continue texting without medical complications. The guide advises texters to hold the phone’s screen in-front of their face, keep their hands close to their body, use both hands, take texting breaks and to “exercise” their hands, such as by stretching their fingers.