Watch out! Technological injuries!

Before, videogames

The youngest ones use with greater constancy the controls of the consoles of game, but thanks to their little age, their capacity to be cured and the plasticity of their articulations and tendons (quite superior to the one of the adults) they are little less than invincible, in the sense that inflammations do not last that long. In contrast, in adults , the thing is not so smooth .
The first finger to injure was, of course, the thumb (that finger of the opposite hand to the other four and that differentiates us from the other apes), with which the buttons of each control are handled with agility.

Tendonitis? And without being a violinist, or pianist, or guitarist?
The Steelcase company, from the USA, conducted a study where new behaviors associated with mobile technology were observed . The funny thing was that they managed to identify 9 unsuitable postures, which cause pain and discomfort, and the amplified use of more devices increased by 30% the risk of injuries to fingers , wrists, elbow, shoulder and back , causing at the same time more disorders of the posture associated with cervical pain and the outside of the elbow.

It seems incredible, but touch screens cause tendonitis by promoting repetitive movements with the hands.

Taking the devices with both hands is better

Younger people use more devices: cell phones, tables, controls and use them with both hands ; this causes them to spread the load of use and injure themselves less .

But the same happens that they go to the doctor for intense pains in the back of the index , being the most common symptoms this pain and less strength in the hands. They even presented syndrome of tunnel carpal by forcing the hand posture for a long time, or perform repetitive wrist movements.

The touch screen promotes a much wider mobility of the thumb

And more speed, since it is no longer limited to the keyboard. With this, tendons responsible for enabling these movements are forced to the limit and inflamed, and therefore tendonitis

And your thumb does nothing without the index , which for something the reflection of clamp is one of the most important achievements of our stage babies, these are the fingers that more are injured: the thumb needs strength against pressure It exerts the index when holding the device, and while the devices rest on the index, the thumb presses on the screen. No matter how light they are now, the effort is the same.

Less time, less risk

Although we do not like it, the indicated time to not suffer from tendinitis or joint pain is two hours continuous, and also use certain strategies, such as placing the equipment so that the keyboard is below the height of the elbows, relax wrists and shoulders, help with rubber pads for the area where the palm starts when using the mouse or an external keyboard, pause ...
Sitting on seats with comfortable backs , grasping the device with both hands and keeping it at 15 cm from the eyes is a good start to get used to good posture. And never, never , write on the mobile with the back bent and head down for a period of more than 10 minutes.

Technology has given us an easier life, of that there is no doubt, but if we do not want to end up like the fat ones of Wall-E , the animated film, we have to take precautions and start moving in more natural and human ways.

If you liked this article, you may be interested to know that the technology of the Minority Report movie is already a reality .