iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Text with your thumbs? Better cut back unless you want to develop a case of tendinitis.
Researchers in Turkey say that frequent use of the thumbs while texting causes tendons in the hand to thicken, resulting in painful inflammation.
They conducted an experiment using about 150 people ages 18 to 40, half of whom texted often through repetitive use of their thumbs while the other half didn’t text nearly as much.
By using ultrasound imaging, the researchers saw an extra thickness of the tendon stretching from the carpal tunnel (the median nerve running from your forearm through a passageway in your wrist) to the tip of the thumb of the most frequent texters.
This also caused them to feel greater thumb pain, especially in the dominant hand. Normally, repetitive movements cause tendon injuries in larger joints but this study is among the first to examine the effect of texting on thumbs.
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