Orthopedists more and more often deal with a new civilization disease - the telephonist's thumb, resulting from the intensive use of a smartphone. Anyone who reacts to pain early has a chance to deal with it easily.
When operating a smartphone, thumbs work most intensively - we use them both for scrolling the screen and for writing messages. They are particularly heavily loaded when we operate the smartphone with one hand. Continuously repeated while scrolling, the quick movement of the thumb towards the little finger strains it and generates pain in the hand on the side of the thumb due to inflammation of the tendon sheath.
Group of vulnerable - networked young people
Inflammation of this type is nothing new, but in the past, women aged 60+ were the most numerous group of patients, and their ailments were caused by many years of physical work, resulting in degeneration and inflammation of the locomotor system, including the hands. Today, most of those complaining of pain in the thumb area are young people - a typical patient is 15-25 years old, he is he althy as a fish and … constantly logged in the Internet.
The specificity of the therapy
These statistical changes also influence the treatment that orthopedists use today. In older women, cortisone injections were effective - they reduced pain and inflammation, surgery was necessary only in exceptional cases. Currently, doctors recommend that young patients take the strain off their thumbs: put the smartphone aside for a week and wait patiently until the symptoms subside. Ignoring the dull pain that appears when scrolling the screen and writing, may lead to the transition of inflammation into a chronic state, which will not only make it impossible to operate the smartphone, but also make it much more difficult to perform all precise activities (such as fastening buttons, handwriting), sometimes it is necessary to operate the sheath tendons.
Smart prophylaxis
To prevent recurring inflammation, save your thumbs, e.g. by operating the phone with both hands and also using other fingers. It is worth taking breaks for relaxing exercises and massaging your hands. And above all, do not overdo it with the intensity of using your smartphone - some kind of abstinence will not only benefit your thumbs, but also your psyche.
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