Daily Innovation, Ministry Insights, and Thoughts from Todd Rhoades for Pastors and Church Leaders

HOME | ABOUT MMI | CATEGORIES | RSS | FORUMS | RESOURCES | SUBMIT CONTENT | TRANSLATE MMI | CONTACT US


Email Newsletter  

Each Monday Morning, we'll send you the newest church leadership headlines straight to your in-box! It's all free and you can unsubscribe at any time! Join over 12,000 other pastors who receive MMI updates each week! We respect your privacy.


image

‘BlackBerry Thumb’ Sparks New Form of Hand Massage

I'll be the first to admit that I'm addicted to my Blackberry. (Just ask my wife). But I've never been so addicted that I've succumbed to "Blackberry Thumb"... you know, the carpal tunnel syndrome type symptoms from typing on your little Blackberry keyboard so much. Boy, was I relieved though to find out that if I ever do have that problem, I can get a new message, designed specifically for Blackberry Thumb when I stay at any Hyatt Hotel Spa...

TORONTO (Reuters via E-Week)—Sore thumbs after spending hours on a hand-held e-mail device? Sounds like a case of “BlackBerry Thumb"—but help is at hand.

The Hyatt hotel chain found so many of their business travelers were complaining of hand and arm discomfort that they have introduced a special “BlackBerry Balm” hand massage at most of their North American spas.

Corporate spa director Kyra Johnson said guests began asking masseurs to spend more time on their hands and arms because of the growing popularity of PDA (personal digital assistant) devices like BlackBerrys and Treos.

The 30-minute massage, that costs about $30, begins with heat treatment and uses a “BlackBerry Balm.” It “focuses on counteracting tension on various hand and arm muscles, specifically in the thumbs and overworked wrists,” according to a Hyatt statement.

The American Physical Therapy Association recently recognized BlackBerry Thumb as an official work place malady—a stress-related injury due to over-use of any PDA or smartphone.

Ontario-based Research IN Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry became a technological must-have in the late 1990s as a tool that delivers e-mail to users on the move. It is jokingly called a “CrackBerry” by many users.

Professor Alan Hedge, an ergonomics specialist at Cornell University in New York state, said the condition is caused by “highly repetitive, forceful thumb movements with the thumbs held back from the palms.”

The symptoms are pain in the thumb and region around the base of the thumb and hand. Treatment typically consists of resting or strapping the thumb, anti-inflammatory medicines, cortisone injections and, as a last resort, surgery.

“It’s a bit like the “Nintendo thumb” of the ‘90s,” said occupational therapist Andrew Morton, referring to young people who spent hours battering hand-held video game controllers with their thumbs.

Morton, who specializes in hand therapy at the University Hospital in London, Ontario, said this problem was going to become more common, with increasing numbers of hand-held electronic devices with small buttons being used.

Hedge recommended preventive measures like holding the device comfortably in the hands and close to the body, and not typing for more than five minutes without a break.

“Don’t type “War and Peace” with your thumbs! If you need to type long messages use an external keyboard for the device,” Hedge said by e-mail.

- - - - - - - - - -

This post has been viewed 275 times and was added on November 15, 2006 by Todd Rhoades.
Filed under: Miscellaneous  For What It's Worth  
Share this post with a friend right now!
View reactions to this post at other blogs...

You can really help us out by subscribing to our free RSS feed with your favorite feed reader, or here at Bloglines. Also, you can add us to your favorites at Technorati.


It's easy...
Link to this URL


Like this article? Get our free weekly email newsletter for more great resources just like this...  



- - - - - - - - - -
 
Post Your Comments:

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Live Comment Preview:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image below: