'Tired' thumb on the loose

2003-07-21 20:54

Antoinette Pienaar

Johannesburg - South African teenagers who let their thumbs do the talking with cellphone text messages (SMS's), are battling with thumb and wrist injuries just like the British.

Adrie van Zyl, 18, a student at the University of Pretoria, is being treated for a sore thumb after sending about 80 SMS messages per month.

This is more than the average of 19 text messages South Africans send every month.

Her physiotherapist, Louise Jackson, says Van Zyl's "tired" thumb is a typical "over-strain injury".

The repeated thumb movement when sending an SMS can cause inflammation in the sinews and muscles.

"The only advice is to let the thumb rest for a few days or to use another finger to type."

Van Zyl says an SMS at 34c per call is a convenient and cheap way to maintain contact with her friends.

Cellphone companies in Britain are even prescribing exercises to relax thumbs after excessive strain.

Jackson said it was the first time she treated an SMS injury.

"We tend to see more wrist and elbow injuries in cases where people hold their computer mouse too close to them."

- Beeld