Blackberry Thumb Syndrome

Blackberry Thumb Repetitive Strain Injury

Do your thumbs hurt?

Do you have a Blackberry?

Do you send lots of text messages?

You may have the new injury… Blackberry Thumb!

Repetitive Strain Injuries, or Occupational Overuse Syndrome as it is now termed, may be on the increase with the growing use of small electronic devices such as iPods, Blackberrys and mobile phones.

Computers are continuing to get smaller, despite the fact that this makes them less ergonomic. Notebooks are often described by manufacturers as desktop replacements, while handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as the Blackberry are increasingly being used by more people.
Mobile phone use, in particular the dramatic rise in texting is also of concern.

Anything that causes repeat motion can predispose someone to injuries of various sorts, whether it is tendonitis or aggravating underlying arthritis. These things can be made worse or even initiated by overuse. Thumb typing is very repetitive, and the keys are so small it makes it difficult to navigate around easily.

If you think of a full size keyboard and the way it is designed for use, your dexterous fingers are used for hitting the letter keys, and your relatively clumsy thumbs for the humble task of striking the space bar. With a PDA or texting on a mobile, this is all reversed.

Another issue is static loading. This means holding your muscles in contraction. When using a PDA, and in particular when texting, you have to stabilise everything and hold something still while making tiny repetitive movements. A lot of people believe repetitive strain injury only happens because of movements you make, whereas in fact holding still is just as big a risk factor. And, with text messaging you are doing both of these things at once.

Various injuries can occur, the most common of these being De Quervains tenosynovitis (tendonitis of the thumb tendons) though other injuries such as trigger finger or thumb, carpel tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow can also be seen.

What to do?
Limit use appropriately
So, don't spend long periods of time emailing from a PDA, it may be more appropriate to get your laptop out or work from your PC instead.
Consider whether the time you are spending texting or emailing could be better used actually phoning someone. Or better still, if they’re in your office, walk there and speak to them!

Hand posture
Every PDA is different, so check your manual for tips on proper hand posture.
The key seems to be the thumbwheel that most PDAs have on the side, the up/down motion is very unnatural and appears to be the culprit in most cases. If you can, find alternatives to the thumbwheel using touchscreen or other navigation keys where available.

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