Blogpost 4: Texters Thumb

Using our thumb is the easiest way of using our gadgets. The thumb is known to be the least nimble part of the hand. And we use it to navigate our gadgets. By looking at our hand we can see that our thumbs are different from the rest of our fingers. Our thumbs are opposable. The most important thing we get from grasp is probably the ability to use gadgets and tools. Here are some information and tips to prevent having texters thumb and other finger illness.


I have read an article entitled "Texter's Thumb" written by Mary Bodel found on Ezine Articles. In this article it was said that we can see anywhere we go people text messaging each other, usually with the thumbs. Some can type almost as fast via the thumbs as they can with a keyboard. Some teens actually text up to one hundred times every single day.

What can you do to prevent it? Being aware of the potential problem is a start. Take a look at how often you use the tiny keyboard, and whether or not it is a consistent action on an every day basis. If it is, time to start making a few changes.




Use other fingers: Yes, it's simpler to just use the thumbs, but it might be an idea to alternate which fingers you use. This will help protect your thumb.

Give it a rest: You may want to reduce the number and length of these messages. This allows your thumbs to rest and the threat of inflammation to the nerves in the wrist. You should also stop texting after twenty minutes and don't start again for the same period of time.

Massage: Gently rub the thumbs, the hands and your wrists. You may also want to rotate the wrists and wiggle your thumb back and forth in order to keep it loose..

Exercises: Rotating your hand at the wrist, stretching and other exercises may help prevent texter's thumb. It may sound silly to exercise in order to text more, but it is a valid suggestion.

Mary Bodel quoted "There are things you can do at home, though it is a good idea to have the doctor check it out and make sure exactly what the problem is"

Instead of just texting or playing gadgets for a long period of time and abusing our fingers we can do house chores instead. That will be an alternative way of resting our fingers and other parts of the body to the harmful effects of gadgets.

I have read an article entitled "Texting Thumb" written by Wolfgang Luckmann found on Massage Therapy. 
In this article it was said that the dependence of consumers on these phones can easily lead to thenar tendinitis, an inflammation of tissues in the thumb. Some opt for surgery to repair or remove "blown out" tendons caused by texting, but from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupressure is one noninvasive way this modern-day injury can be addressed. 

Since texting thumb, more commonly known as Blackberry thumb, has little research surrounding it, there are no standard treatment protocols at this time.





Wolfgang Luckmann quoted "Our training as massage therapists, however, has given us sufficient knowledge to analyze the anatomy and physiology involved in this technology-derived injury, and provide relief for our clients who may suffer from it"

We don't need any treatment or therapy in this illness we just all need is self discipline in using our gadgets.

Having Texters Thumb is just a result of over usage of our gadgets with the help of our thumb. We all need to discipline ourselves and lessen of balance the usage of our fingers when we are using our gadgets. For me with self discipline anything will be possible.

Blogpost 3: Back Pain

Back pain is very common illness for everyone, even children suffers from this illness. It is because of lack of exercise, posture problems, over fatigue and many more.

I have read an article entitled “More children find it's a pain to use gadgets” written by Lo Wei found on South China Morning Post. In this article, it was said that more children are suffering from joint and back pains caused by 

the frequent use of electronic gadgets.

A study conducted by Polytechnic University and the Physiotherapy Association found that 28 per cent of 582 students polled this year suffered neck, shoulder, wrist or other pains from their regular use of electronic devices.

More than 80 per cent of the respondents, aged 10 to 15, were regular smartphone users. Of them, 40 per cent said they used the gadget between one and four hours each day.

Children had a higher head-to-body ratio than adults, so when they bowed their heads to use their devices, it put more of a strain on their back.

Dr Grace Szeto Pui-yuk, an associate professor of rehabilitation sciences at the university, said soft tissues in children's bones were still growing and were more easily damaged. She recommended that parents apply the American Academy of Pediatrics' guideline of keeping children under the age of two away from any electronic screens.

Lo Wei quoted "Poor posture also caused spinal deformities in some children"

Back pain can come to everyone so we must do actions as soon as the symptoms appears.

I have read an article entitled "iPain: How Britons' obsession with gadgets could be causing long-term health problems" written by Claire Baites found on Mail Online. 

In this article it was said that our gadgets especially smartphones, laptops,and E-reader may be essential additions to modern life but they are causing harm on our bodies.

A survey by the British Chiropractic Association found that one in four of us complain of a sore neck, back or shoulder due to using or carrying gadgets.

Laptops appear to be the major reason with 27 percent of those suffering back and neck pain admitting to using a laptop for between two to four hours a day.

Mr Hutchful a British Chiropractor says that our muscles  are designed to flex and retract and if you stay in a fixed posture for too long like peering over a phone you are putting those muscles in stress.

Claire Baites quoted "More than 2,000 adults also revealed that 44 per cent of those who use a smartphone spend up to two hours on non-call related tasks such as texting, surfing, using apps and social networking"

We should know our limitations to be able for us to avoid having this kinds of illness.

Exercise is a great way to fight any kind of illness. If we are physically fit we can avoid those illness. Having a healthy lifestyle is a must, we should consider our health in every activity that we are dealing in our everyday life.

Blogpost 2: Texters Neck Syndrome

As a college student we uses our Cellphones from time to time and we sent over 100 messages a day. I know it helps us in communicating with others especially with our love ones but are we informed about its negative effects? 

In my previous blog we learn that there are really a lot of negative effects in overusing of gadgets and one those is Texters Neck Syndrome. This syndrome is associated with mobile phones, laptops and tablets. Those who engage in the texting or simply reading while hunched over laptops easily strain their neck and chiropractors say that the pain can be severe.

I have read an article entitled "Neck Pain From Texting" written by LMatthews found on The Text Neck Institute. In this article it was said that neck pain from texting in combination with another piece of research from earlier this year this might just lead to changes in our texting behaviour, and in the manufacture of mobile phones. Gustafsson found differences in thumb postures and physical loads during texting between men and women, and between those with musculoskeletal disorders and those without. Shoulder, neck, and arm muscle movements, and the motion of the thumbs, were measured and the researchers found significant differences in muscle load and thumb position when the texter was sitting rather than standing. In addition, women had higher muscle activity than men in the extensor digitorum and the abductor pollicis longus when texting, with greater thumb speed, greater thumb abduction, and fewer pauses between thumb movements.

Lmatthews quoted “With millions of texts sent every day, and every new generation arguably more reliant on their gadgets and gizmos than the next, texting could be a looming public health crisis”

We should sit properly and took care of our positions while using our gadgets.

I have read an article entitled "TEXT NECK: A Global Epidemic" written by Dr. Dean Fishman found on The Text Neck Institute. In this article it was stated that living in the modern digital age certainly has its benefits. We all enjoy the conveniences contemporary electronic technology offers, especially our mobile handheld devices. How did we ever live without the endless amounts of information, instant results and ability to interact and communicate, all at our fingertips? However, with all the advantages we gain from mobile technology comes the risk of serious and permanent health problems.

Dr. Dean Fishman is a Chiropractor in Plantation Florida, and a leading health care provider for technology induced injuries. Dr. Fishman originated the phrase 'Text Neck' to explain the repeated stress injury to the body caused by excessive texting and overuse of all handheld electronic devices. 

The term, and the health condition, is derived from the onset of cervical spinal degeneration resulting from the repeated stress of frequent forward head flexion while looking down at the screens of mobile devices and 'texting' for long periods of time. While 'Text Neck' is certainly a new medical term, the condition is impacting millions and is a growing critical global concern.  

Dr. Dean Fishman quoted "Text Neck' is a world-wide health concern, affecting millions of all ages and from all walks of life" 

It's really alarming how texting affects our body especially to our neck, we must learn to lessen the time that we are texting and the proper positions while doing it.

I therefore conclude that our positions while texting is important to prevent these kind of illness. In order for us to live healthy we must not abuse anything especially our mobile phones. Everything has a limit and everyone is vulnerable to this kind of illness so as early as now change your lifestyle and keep your body healthy.

Blogpost 1: How Gadgets do affects our daily lives and its negative effects

Today, we are living in a world of technology which is connected to gadgets. There are many types of gadgets that have been invented than in the past. And gadget is not just a small thing. It's getting bigger and bigger every single day because of the increasing number of people who uses it.





Everyone uses gadget for many reasons. Like, it make their work easier and faster. It connects them with their family and friends whenever and wherever they are. And for some, gadgets can also be a stress reliever. I could say that gadget was really a big help for us. Yes it has advantages but are you aware of its negative effects?

I have read an article entitled "Positive and Negative Impact of Electronic Devices and Gadget to the Children" written by Yap Bee Lee found on HubPages. In this article, it was said that children uses gadgets as young as two years old. Also, it was stated here that children tend to become active consumers.


In able for the parents not to be disturbed with their work, they buy gadgets for their children. It is one of their way to make their children focus on something and stop making unpleasant things. But I think, it is not good that their own parents are one of the reason why they become more addicted to gadgets.So instead of giving or buying gadgets for you child, it is better to let them play with their siblings or buy toys that suit their age. Give toys that will catch their attention and can stop them to stay and play in one place.


"Everything has its usefulness and also its negative aspect on over-exposed to the devices and gadgets." , says Lee

If we overuse anything it will going to inflict negative things to us, just like in gadgets if we abuse the use of our gadgets it will give us negative effects.

 I have read an article entitled "The negative impact of popular gadgets on children’s hand health" written by Dr. John Knight found on The Hand and Wrist Institute. In this article it was stated that injuries in too much usage of gadgets are not limited to the hands. It says that rarely one isolated part of the body is also affected by overuse of gadgets. We can also suffer in posture problems, shoulder pain, neck strain and our wrist will be afflicted with inflammations or nerve compression.



Dr. John Knight quoted “In addition to looking at each specific problem as it arises, we have to look at the body as a whole and how it’s responding to the overuse of gadgets”.

Anything we do in our everyday life affects our body for example if you are a painter you can't say that only your hand will be tired you can also suffer from back pain and other illness.

Those isolated parts may be connected to Dashingvishal’s article, “7 Harmful effect of gadgets” found on Bubblews. 

• Texters Neck Syndrome- associated with mobile phones, laptops and tablets. Those who engage in the texting or simply reading while hunched over laptops easily strain their neck and chiropractors say that the pain can be severe. Moreover, the blood circulation is affected, which can lead to tennis elbow, when the exterior region of the elbow becomes sore. 
•  Back Pain- those who hunch over laptops while working are prone to back pain due to bad posture. Incorrect posture directly affects the shape of the spine and causes pain in the muscles of the back and the shoulders. 
• Texters Thumb- widely known as Texters Thumb, carpal tunnel is caused by heavy texting. It results shooting pain, burning sensation as well as numbness in the hands. The strength in the hands of the patients also decreases and they find difficulty in maintaining a grip on everyday objects.
• Radiation risks- Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is part and parcel of any +Electronic +device, with mobile phone radiation and +Mobile +Phone towers being the most under the public's eye. EMR is associated with brain tumours, childhood leukemia and genetic damage under long term exposure, say studies.
•   Phantom vibration syndrome- Linked to anxiety, phantom vibration is the false feeling of thinking that a phone or any other gadget for that matter is ringing, though it is not. Associated problems include ringxiety (sense that phone is ringing) and fauxcellarm (believing that an alarm is ringing). You may not even know that you are suffering from these ailments, but try to remember how many times you have checked if your phone is ringing.
• Loss of sleep- Sleep loss is quite common among those whose lives revolve around their electronic devices, be it laptop, tablets, phones, gaming gadgets or even the TV. Those who use these devices before going to bed are mainly at risk since the exposure of the body to bright artificial light of the screens lowers melatonin release (a sleep-promoting hormone). Even worse, it promotes alertness in the body, which makes falling asleep difficult and can aggravate sleep disorders.
• Poor Eyesight- Another problem related to the bright, backlit screens of modern gadgets is poor eyesight. LCD screens strain the eyes less than the older CRT screens, graphical but at high intensity cause much damage nevertheless. 

Dashingvihal's quoted "You may not even know that you are suffering from these ailments, but try to remember how many times you have checked if your phone is ringing"

We must give ourselves a break as a reward for finishing the hard things that we did in every single day. Good day starts with a good sleep.


As a college student, I already know what is right and wrong, and what my limitations are, especially in using gadgets.We should learn how to control ourselves.Instead of being addicted to gadgets why not focus on playing sports? If we play sports we can be more fit. It's good for our body. We can also read books in our rooms. I'm not saying that you should stop using gadgets, what I'm trying to say is we should know when to stop.