Talking on the Phone Too Much? Might Get Cell Phone Elbow
It never fails. Whenever something gets big and popular, there just has to be a health risk behind it. Sure enough, those who like to spend a lot of time talking on the cell phone may be at risk for “cell phone elbow.” How can you tell if you’ve got it?
Medically known as cubital tunnel syndrome, cell phone elbow is numbness, tingling and pain in the forearm and hand caused by compression of the ulnar nerve, which passes along the bony bump on the inside of the elbow.
It seems that repeated flexing of the elbow such as from putting the phone to the ear (and the reverse) strains the ulnar nerve. Health experts state that in extreme cases the fingers can become “clawed.” Ouch. I better be careful, given how many phones I own.
(via Health24)
I get this if I hold the phone up to my ear for too long. It’s only a problem on my mobile as I tend to use hands free at home.
I’m glad to hear that there’s a medical name for it though. I could probably use that to beef up my man flu claims
This is fairly common for people who use desk phones as well (telemarketers, customer service reps, etc.), which is why headsets are now so commonplace.
Cubital tunnel syndrome is not fun.
I actually had to get surgery to have the ulnar nerve (which is the nerve in the cubital tunnel) relocated on both of my arms. This wasn’t due to phone use, but actually RSI issues.
I can’t believe they’re calling it “cell phone elbow”, though…
heh, im having issues with my wrist after using my N800 in bed to often…