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Blackberry users succumb to achy, injured thumbs

By EMILY NIPPS
Published March 8, 2006

TAMPA - It's just another trendy malaise of the techno-savvy, much like "Pac-Man wrist" in the 1980s and "mouse shoulder" in the 1990s.

With millions of Americans now using wireless messaging devices in lieu of a good, old-fashioned telephone, "BlackBerry thumb" is turning up in doctors' offices everywhere.

Button mashing. It ruins people's thumbs but no one seems to be able to stop.

"You're not going to change people from text messaging," said Tampa hand surgeon Dr. Robert Belsole, who said he has seen a slight increase in technology-related thumb injuries over the last year. "I learned that a long time ago."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Joey Galloway is one such fan of his BlackBerry. He appeared at a "thumb therapy" promotional event held Tuesday at an Alltel store in New Tampa.

Galloway, who has dislocated his thumb but has never had BlackBerry thumb, said he sends and receives a constant stream of text messages among his agents, friends, family and fellow players. He often talks on his cell phone and text messages at the same time. He barely remembers a life before text messages.

"What did I do? I guess I talked on the phone. Sheesh," he said. "Oh, wait . . . I had a two-way pager. So I guess I've been text messaging for a long time."

Even while Galloway got a hand massage in the store, he sent a text message to a buddy.

"My hands are in pretty good shape," Galloway said. "Playing PlayStation a lot keeps my thumbs strong."

Next to some text messaging extremists, Galloway's BlackBerry use is nothing. A woman in Singapore set a Guinness World Record by typing, "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human," in 43.24 seconds. And in Malaysia, text message divorces were briefly legal before an Islamic court struck down the practice.

Alltel provided a small break from the madness by lighting scented purple candles and providing three on-site hand therapists who massaged lotion into tired hands. While none of the therapists saw any actual BlackBerry thumb sufferers on Tuesday, one therapist, Lisa Choe of the Florida Orthopaedic Institute, said she has seen a lot of repetitive-use injuries of the thumb, and "text messaging is definitely one of the contributing factors."

And Alltel doesn't like to see that. Sure, the Joey Galloway appearance and thumb therapy hoopla was a marketing maneuver. But Alltel also wanted to get the word out: Blackberry thumb is a real affliction, and there are ways to prevent it from happening.

"It's a way to educate the public," said Alltel manager Kim Smithers. "We want to keep everyone's thumbs working."

Emily Nipps can be reached at 813 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com

Keep your wrist straight, not bent in either direction, when holding and using the device.

Switch hands often, or type the keys using a thicker pen or stylus than what you normally use.

Get familiar with shorthand text abbreviations such as "np" for "no problem," "brb" for "be right back" and "c u l8r" for "see you later."

If possible, place pillows in your lap and rest your arms on the pillows as you text message.

Take occasional breaks from the BlackBerry or cell phone keys and try communicating some other way. Stretch and massage fingers in the meantime.

Tips from Alltel and Dr. Robert Belsole.

[Last modified March 8, 2006, 01:42:19]