For years I’ve freely admitted that a career built on words is not a patch on my Dad’s 40 years as a plasterer, but this week I’ve developed a ridiculous work-related injury. It turns out I’m not alone.
I’ve managed to give myself a repetitive strain injury in my left hand – focusing largely on my thumb.
This is hardly the same as a bad back or broken bone, but it’s proving to be quite debilitating in my line of work.
I’ve been trying to test a secret new gadget for a forthcoming TV shoot – but using my other hand makes the process alien at best, impossible at worst.
A recent survey from a major mobile phone network revealed that two in five of us have now suffered from a varying level of pain or discomfort in our hands, thanks to our use of smartphones. Given that we can now do so much from a modern mobile, they can be glued in our hand for several hours of the day.
Overuse and ignoring that occasional twinge or sign that your hand is in discomfort is likely to manifest itself down the line in a long-term health condition. The thought of NHS smartphone clinics for those suffering from arthritis in the next 10 years is no longer crazed scaremongering.
Our bodies are not built for this level of repetitive action – if the thumb was designed to be swiping and typing for a prolonged period of time it would look significantly different. The next evolution of man is likely to see our thumb increase to the size of a small saucer in the next thousand years.
A few years ago, I dismissed the British Chiro-practic Association’s Safe Text campaign as a PR stunt, but today I’m following their guidelines religiously.
The five exercises as shown on the www.practisesafetext.com website are designed to ensure your hand and thumb are exercised, and you break the effects of continued repetitive action.
For a little while I’m taking a leaf out of Bob Hoskins’ book and picking up the phone – after all, it’s good to talk.
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