Pocket-sized perils

Smartphones. The majority of us now own one and we can’t comprehend how those who don’t live without them.

We use them as alarm clocks, calendars, personal organisers, entertainment systems, game consoles, online messengers and, yes, even phones. But could our reliance on these compact contraptions be harming our health?

Two months ago, a South Korean study suggested that the excessive use of smartphones by children is causing them to become cross-eyed. Doctors at Chonnam National University Hospital in Seoul identified the link between overuse of mobile phones and ‘convergent strabismus’ — a condition that sees patients’ eyes gradually moving inwards. It doesn’t end there. Researchers and health professionals have identified several physical pitfalls of smartphone use in recent years, all on the rise as we steadily transform into a nation of ‘smombies’. So, keep your smartphone firmly in your pocket, ignore the bleeps and bings of notifications, and instead inform yourself of the dangers of these pocket-sized perils. (That is, unless you’re reading this on your smartphone — in which case embrace the irony and carry on scrolling.)

Blackberry thumb

The first of these cyber-syndromes is Blackberry thumb. Named after one of the first smartphones to have a Qwerty keyboard, this repetitive strain injury is caused by overusing mobile phones to send emails and texts. With symptoms including pain at the radial side of the wrist, spasms, tenderness, occasional burning sensations and swelling of the thumbs, Blackberry thumb is no laughing matter.

So worried were working professionals, in fact, that back in 2011, co-founder of the Roberts Jackson solicitors Karen Jackson warned employers that they should expect to receive a series of lawsuits from bum-thumbed staff claiming compensation. Thankfully, this has not yet come to pass. But our thumbs are undoubtedly much busier than they were before the dawn of the smartphone — and researchers at the University of Zurich recently discovered that the part of our brain responsible for thumb movement (the somatosensory cortex, obviously) has actually begun to grow in the heads of frequent phone-users.

Cell phone elbow

Prolonged mobile phone use has been found to cause the disconcertingly vague-sounding ‘cubital tunnel syndrome’. As we hold our phones up to our ears, our elbow presses together and the resulting pressure can damage the cubital tunnel, a channel which allows the ulnar nerve — your ‘funny bone’ nerve — to travel over the elbow and down to your hands.

Decreased blood flow and nerve ischemia are also side effects of those long phone calls we love so much. Health professionals suggest using a hands-free headset (if you’re from the late 1990s) or your microphone-enabled headphones (if your hardware is up to digital date). Only by doing this will you be able to stop the pain, numbness or tingling in the forearm and hand from getting worse. Or, you could just hang up and text instead — but that comes with its own worries.

Text neck

The number of cases of ‘text neck’, an affliction caused by flexing the neck for extended periods of time, are on the rise. Doctors have warned that these twinges and aches — also referred to as iPosture issues — can be a forerunner of permanent arthritic damage if they go without treatment.So, the next time you crane your neck to get a better look at your match’s picture on Tinder, or move your face closer to your phone in an attempt to translate a nonsensical, auto-corrected text, spare a thought for your spine.

Rachael Lancaster, of Freedom Back Clinics in Leeds, suggests taking regular screen breaks, and looking straight ahead while tucking the chin back towards the neck every few minutes. Rotating the shoulders with your arms by your sides can also help; sitting up straight and holding the phone a little higher is the best way to maintain a healthy posture.

Smartphone pinky

Rather oddly, this mobile-related malady was first flagged up by a Japanese cellphone network. In a statement that must have slipped straight by the press office, NTT Docomo revealed that users could be damaging their fingers by gripping their smartphones too tightly. “Please take the time to hold your phone differently or take a break so that it is not too much of a burden on a particular finger,” the company tweeted, alongside an image of a dented pinky finger.

Text claw

Blackberry thumb and Smartphone pinky may attack individual digits, but text claw strikes at your hand as a whole. A consequence of repetitive fine motor activity, Text claw develops because many people work on their phones in a position that is not natural for the thumb, wrist or finger joints. These awkward positions can lead to tendinitis (inflammation of the tendons).

In 2013, before 4G was rolled out across the UK, network provider O2, a British telecom provider, surveyed their customers and found that 43% of smartphone users had suffered from bad hand pain in their palms and wrists over the previous 12 months. This led to the company introducing 65 gram ‘thumbells’ to prepare users from the strain that better connectivity would inevitably bring. We await to see how they plan to fix the cross-eyed conundrum...