As thousands of students in Britain get set to receive their exams results in the coming weeks, chartered physiotherapists are urging young people to take steps to ward off text message injury (TMI). Survey results released by the UKs Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) show that the text lives of teenagers in particular are becoming a pain.
According to the study, just over third (34 per cent) of young people aged 16-24 send an average of 20 or more texts a day and one in six (16 per cent) of them had experienced discomfort in their hands when they text. A small number have also felt discomfort in their wrists, arms, neck and shoulders.
Bronwyn Clifford, chartered physiotherapist specialising in ergonomic health and CSP spokesperson, says: "Texting is a great way to communicate - especially to pass on news about exam results - but mobile phones are not ergonomically designed for excessive texting and they require repetitive movements to operate them. Too much texting can result in pain and swelling of the tendons at the base of the thumb and wrist."
The CSPÃ's survey also revealed differences in the texting habits of young people around Britain:
Bronwyn, who specialises in treating upper limb disorders, says texters need to think about the frequency, duration and intensity of their texting: "Keep messages short and use abbreviations and the predictive text function on your phone. Try to restrict text sessions to 5-10 minutes and avoid holding the phone if you are not using it or are waiting for a response as this will help prevent muscle fatigue from continuous grasping."
Posted to the site on 29th July 2008
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