For many people texting is part of modern society and there’s a growing incidence of muscle strain in thumbs.
This was formerly colloquially known as a ‘Crackberry’ thumb because users who had sore thumbs were apparently addicted to using their BlackBerry smart phone devices.
However, it stands to reason that protracted texting may do more damage to your body than to just to your thumbs. Carpel tunnel syndrome, neck and shoulder tension together with headaches may result. Here at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic in North London we would like to help you with the following self help advice, but first lets look at how the texting phenomenon has taken off.
Recent research from Ofcom found that the average UK mobile phone user sends 50 texts per week, this has doubled over the last four years.
On top of this they found that another 90 minutes per week is spent accessing social networking sites and e-mail, or using a smart phone to access the internet.
It appears that, for the first time, fewer phone calls are being made on both landlines and on mobile phones.
But there is a potential price to be paid for using this new technology – and it may be your body that picks up the bill. If you are finding that you are having neck or back pain and you haven’t been doing anything strenuous to prompt this, then it could be your mobile or smart phone which is causing it.
Should you be having any of these symptoms, our North London Chiropractor, Dylan Paydar offers these self help exercises for you to try in the first instance.
a) Shrug your shoulders. Shrug towards the ear and hold for a count of three and then repeat three times. This makes it easier to relax a muscle after you’ve tightened it and as you relax the shoulder muscles you allow blood to flow into the arm
b) Make a fist. Hold your arm out to the side, make a fist and tense it and the arm. Hold for a count of three and let your arm flop to your side. Repeat three times. Again this exercise will help blood flow and tone your arm muscles
c) Wrist stretch. Stretch your wrist backwards, count to three, then stretch it forwards, count to three. Repeat three times. This exercise prevents tightening of the wrists and will help the tendons which are strained as you tilt your thumb towards your wrists to text
d) Finger spread. To help keep your fingers supple and mobile stretch your fingers as far apart as you can, count to three, make a fist and count to three. Repeat three times.
Finally, one of the biggest issues is neck ache caused by looking down at your mobile phone’s screen. You can help these muscles by retracting your chin to make a ‘double chin’, count to three and then repeat three times.
These are simple exercises which can help with mild cases by themselves and for more severe cases can serve as an adjunct to treatment. If you feel you need treatment and are within the North London suburbs such as Crouch End, Highgate or beyond we will be pleased to help.
You can contact us at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic on 020 8442 0008 or for further information about us and our special offer for new patients visit our website https://chiropractornorthlondon.co.uk/