Advice From a Certified Hand Therapist: Electronic Device Safety

Mar 27,2019 / By the American Society of Hand Therapists / 1 Comment

With an increase in the use of personal electronic devices during our daily lives, we need to be aware of potential negative impacts these devices can have on our bodies. Using electronic devices for extended periods of time, holding a static position, can create stress on our bodies.

Signs and Symptoms of Overuse

Numbness in the fingers from sustaining wrist and elbow positions while holding the device.
Cramping of the fingers and thumbs from using smaller devices for extended periods of time. Keep in mind that for every 1 kg of pressure applied to the pad of your thumb, there is 13 times that amount at the base of your thumb!
Inflammation from repetitive movements causing triggering or catching in the fingers.
Muscle stiffness in the neck or shoulders due to a prolonged bent posture when using devices.

"Tech Neck" Hand Pain Technology

The Right Way to Use Your Phone So You Don’t Wreck Your Body

Oct 12,2018 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from SELF

When you think of the impressive feats the human body has accomplished—building pyramids, running marathons, all that good stuff—hunching over a cell phone to scroll through Instagram likely isn’t one of them.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with loving your phone. We live in a digital age, after all. But there might be something wrong with the way you use it. It might sound weird, but without proper form, prolonged cell phone use can cause a slew of issues from a painful neck to dry eyes and more. Fortunately, you don’t need to give up your phone entirely to help keep these problems at bay. Small changes can make all the difference.

Here, a look at a few common phone-related issues doctors see, plus how to prevent each one.

Read the full story on SELF.

Tech neck, texting thumb: Our bad tech habits leave us in pain. Here’s how to feel better

Jun 20,2018 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from USA Today

Americans now spend more than five hours a day hunched over, reading emails, sending texts or checking social media sites, according to analytics firm Flurry— and it’s turning into a real pain in the neck. No really, there’s actually a condition called “tech neck,” and there’s a good chance you — or someone in your family — have it.

ImagineMD, a direct primary care medical company based in Chicago, gathered Google search trend data to rank tech pains by the number of times people searched for them. “Tech neck” is one of the most frequently Googled tech-related conditions in the U.S. these days, right behind “texting thumb” and “cell phone elbow.”

And while the terms might sound funny, these tech-related conditions can be serious and painful. Here are the top three — and what to do about them.

Gamer’s thumb, aka texting thumb

Thumb pain is the No. 1 most-searched-for technology-related injury, with nearly 100,000 monthly searches, according to that ImagineMD report. It’s a repetitive stress injury, caused by too much gripping, tapping and swiping, either on a video game controller or a smartphone screen, says Robert Wysocki, an orthopedic surgeon at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Read the full story

Joint Replacement Surgery Technology

Random Fact: Joint Replacement Surgery

Jun 6,2018 / By The Hand Society / 1 Comment

Did you know? With advanced technology, custom implants for a joint replacement now match your exact anatomy. Read about joint replacement surgery and learn more about why this procedure is so accurate.

Hand Hand Pain Technology

The Surprising Side Effects from Using Technology

Apr 11,2018 / By The Hand Society / 1 Comment

from Harvard Health Letter

You’ve mastered the art of texting, emailing, and web surfing on your smartphone and computer. But along with that digital prowess, you’ve picked up an unexpected side effect.

“We get a number of patients who develop injuries from these activities,” says Dr. Tamara Rozental, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand, wrist, and elbow disorders at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Hand pain

The repetitive motions of texting and typing can lead to general hand pain from underlying osteoarthritis (the wearing away of cartilage in the joints). “Using these gadgets doesn’t cause osteoarthritis, but if you’re prone to it, it can increase your symptoms,” Dr. Rozental says.

Using your thumbs too much to text can cause strain or overuse injuries of the tendons that run from the wrist to the thumb (a condition called De Quervain’s tenosynovitis). Symptoms include pain over the thumb side of the wrist, which can appear gradually or suddenly and move up the forearm.

Read the full story.

Category : Technology

Advice From a Certified Hand Therapist: Electronic Device Safety

Signs and Symptoms of Overuse

The Right Way to Use Your Phone So You Don’t Wreck Your Body

Tech neck, texting thumb: Our bad tech habits leave us in pain. Here’s how to feel better

Gamer’s thumb, aka texting thumb

Random Fact: Joint Replacement Surgery

Did you know? With advanced technology, custom implants for a joint replacement now match your exact anatomy. Read about joint replacement surgery and learn more about why this procedure is so accurate.

The Surprising Side Effects from Using Technology

Hand pain