Is your smartphone causing you pain?

Using your smartphone excessively for texting, emailing, talking, or scrolling can cause pain in your hand, wrist, elbow and neck. This pain may be a result of overuse of your smartphone.

In recent years, there have been more orthopedic injuries related to the regular use of smartphones. Some of these injuries include:

Texting thumb

Texting and swiping all day can put you at risk or worsen arthritis, as well as cause new tendon issues. Constant, quick movements in the thumb can inflame the tissue around the tendons, a painful condition called tenosynovitis.

Smartphone pinky

Texting, talking, and scrolling a lot can hurt your hands and cause a big space between your ring and pinky fingers. You could also develop a bump in your pinky finger where you support the phone. Over time, you could compress a nerve in your finger and experience pain, numbness or tingling.

Smartphone elbow (Cubital tunnel syndrome)

Think about how you typically hold your phone. Are you bending your elbow at a 90-degree angle and holding it up in front of you? Or, are you sitting in a chair that is low to the ground and resting your elbow on the arm of your chair?

Holding your phone in these ways may cause traction and place pressure on your ulnar nerve, which travels down your inner arm. This can sometimes result in long-term damage. Symptoms include numbness or tingling in the pinky area of your hand and weakness in your grip or poor coordination in your fingers.

Text neck

Repeatedly straining your neck as you’re hunched over your phone may cause muscle pain and spasms. Your head is heavy, weighing about 10 to 12 pounds. So, when you look down at your phone, it strains your neck muscles. This can cause discomfort and pain.

Smartphone tendinitis

There are three common conditions associated with this injury: Trigger finger, De Quervain tendinitis and Carpal tunnel syndrome. The cause of these conditions is the overuse of the fingers and wrist.

• Trigger finger involves the inflammation of the tendon that helps your fingers bend.

• De Quervain tendinitis occurs when there's swelling and irritation of the two tendons along the thumb and side of the wrist that help the thumb move.

• Carpal tunnel syndrome is extremely common and happens when a major nerve in the hand, the median nerve, is compressed at the wrist.

How to avoid smartphone injuries

• Take breaks from your phone throughout the day. Set a timer if possible.

• Notice your posture as you use your phone.

• Vary your hand that holds your phone.

• Put your calls on speaker or use ear buds while talking.

• Talk to text instead of using your hands and fingers.

• Use phone grips on the back of your phone to reduce stress on your thumb and wrist.

• When texting, hold your phone at eye level to avoid hunching.

• Switch between your index finger and thumb to type when texting.

• Take time to stretch after using your phone for long periods of time.

If you're experiencing pain that may be related to the use of your smartphone, it may be time to talk with your health care provider.

Complete our Orthopedics care request form to learn more about orthopedic services offered by MercyOne.