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Hi-tech gadgets 'cause pain'
21/12/2006 14:48 - (SA)
Singapore - Hoping Santa will send you an
iPod, a Nintendo Wii or the latest cellphone this Christmas?
Be careful what you wish for: it could come "painfully"
true.
Sore thumbs, inflamed elbows and stiff shoulders are among
the musco-skeletal injuries linked to excessive use of the
popular hi-tech games and gadgets that could be under the
tree.
"This is a pretty big issue, especially as more and more
people are using gadgets a lot more," said William Lenihan from
Singapore's Osteopathic Pain Relief Centre.
"These repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) are in the long
term very detrimental to the whole body and once RSI comes on,
its very difficult to get rid of," he told Reuters. "The secret
to avoiding this is knowing when to stop."
A few years ago, RSI only used to strike computer and
jackhammer operators, who spent hours performing the same
movement over and over again.
While the majority of IT users remain RSI-free, more and
more people are becoming afflicted, with some children as young
as seven developing symptoms, the British awareness group RSI
Action said on its website (www.rsiaction.org.uk).
According to the group, RSI is on the rise because more
people are "using more computers for more tasks, workplace
stress is increasing, mobile communications are increasing and
leisure use of games and iPods are increasing".
It appears too that the gadgets have the potential to
become more hazardous as the technology advances.
As cellphones get smaller, their keypads also shrink,
requiring finer finger movements that could aggravate joints.
Some users of Apple's iPod music player have also complained
about the intensive thumb movement, according to leading
British-based online IT magazine www.bit-tech.net.
"Hospitals have reported an increase in RSIs of the thumb
from usage of gadgets and mobile phones, primarily from sending
SMS (text messages)," Dr Er Beng Siong of Singapore's
Physiotherapy Associates said. "It's a disease of modern
times."
Ouch factor
Video game consoles can also contribute to RSI.
While sitting for hours on a sofa, clutching a joystick and
staring at a television is the ideal way to unwind for many
people, it could also be risky.
Daisuke Ito, the head doctor at Senzoku Orthopaedic Plastic
Surgery in Tokyo and who often treats RSI, said he expects to
see more game-related cases in the future.
"Once you do suffer from tenosynovitis," he said, referring
to a type of inflammation of the wrist and hand tendons, "we
can treat it with shots. There's also medicine to ease the pain
and braces to wear on the wrist.
"Of course, the most obvious way to treat it is to stop
playing the game."
Popular game consoles, such as Nintendo's Wii - which has
been flying off shelves worldwide - come with health warnings.
The Wii website ( wii.nintendo.com/ ) urges players to take a break every 15 minutes. Sony's Playstation manual also
asks users to take breaks and be aware of their posture while
playing.
Experts say moderation, proper posture and stretching are
key to preventing your hi-tech presents becoming painful.
"People who work at a computer 8 hours a day are already
doing a lot of damage," said osteopath Lenihan. "Then they go
home and do some more. Prevention is always better than cure."
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