Blackberry Thumb: What Is It? What To Do About It?

By Steve Gray ---

According to WebMD, there is an increase in cases of a condition being labeled as “Blackberry Thumb”, also known as “Nintendo thumb” and “PDA thumb” which started appearing in 2005. What Blackberry had in mind is that the fingers would do the typing and the thumb would be used for hitting the space bar. Many of us have turned that around and have been using the thumb for everything.

The results are a cause for concern. There are underlying conditions such as arthritis that have been awakened by the overuse of the thumb and the overuse of the thumb develops conditions such as RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). This is much like avid video players who have been coming down with injuries for years with symptoms of swelling and soreness. Doctors are seeing symptoms of this in cases of children as young as 5 years old who cannot grip a pencil due to the inflammation and pain.

Another part of this injury is something that is known as trigger thumb. This is a condition where the person cannot bend or straighten his thumb or finger. This condition, as it has been explained to me, is caused when the thumb tendon swells and cannot easily glide through the tendon sheath. It feels as is the affected finger or thumb pops or snaps as it moves through the range of motion due to the resistance created by the swollen tendon against the inner wall of the tendon sheath. It can be a very painful condition.

Experts agree that the best thing to do for this condition is to take some time off and relax the thumb. Some people are turning to thumb splints or other specialty items. I have reviewed several hand specialist articles whose recommendations suggest to stay away from these types of healing. The best thing is to cut down on the time using these devices and to practice using them the way they are intended. Basically, just give your thumbs a break.

The ergonomic preventive measures also recommended by the experts include sending very short emails and replying in kind, and taking frequent breaks from thumbing. The eraser tip of a pencil can be a handy thumb substitute. Dr. Jennifer Weiss, Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Southern California, says that using an external keyboard connected to the gadget makes the most sense for people who insist on typing multiple sentences with their thumbs.

Alan Hedge, PhD, Director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics research group at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. is quoted in the article as saying "The thumb is not a very dexterous part of the hand. It is really designed as a stabilizer for pinch gripping with a finger. That is why you only have two of them, not eight. It is the fingers that have dexterity, not the thumb." "When you switch that around (by relying heavily on the thumbs to enter data) you put a lot of strain on the thumb," Hedge says. "So if you persist in typing a lot of information with your thumbs, you risk injury."

Ergonomic News
Steven Gray
A.O.E.S. Ergo Results, Inc.

Steven Gray is the CEO and Lead Ergonomic Consultant of Ergo Results, Inc.  Since 1985, Steve has provided his consulting services to corporations, schools, small businesses, insurance organizations, business executives, professional athletes, and people from all occupations and walks of life. His passion for creating healthy work environments in the world has resulted in his conducting over 1700 ergonomic workstation evaluations and job analysis assessments to aid individuals and employers in the pursuit of a healthier, more productive and rewarding work and life experience. Steve diligently applies his expertise to the benefit of individuals and corporations alike.
Steven holds certification as an Accredited Office Ergonomic Specialist from North Carolina State University and has additional Advanced Ergonomics Evaluation Specialist training through the CEES certification program in industrial, medical and office ergonomics. Steven is a member of the Puget Sound Human Factors Society.
www.ergoshopper.com