Tech bytes for tea?

Four months ago, I mused about how my chiropractor was laughing to the bank with the increasing number of patients he was seeing because of the proliferation of tablet computers and touch-screen devices. That anecdotal episode has now been substantiated by “my paper”.

Front page feature in the Chinese section of my paper on 14 September 2011.

In the front page feature in the Chinese section of my paper on Wednesday (14 September 2011), my paper reported that the number of people suffering from hand injuries has risen because of the popularity of handheld devices.

It reports that although individual touch screen gestures seem like slight movements on their own, overly frequent use would result in arm fatigue, as well as malaise in different parts of the body.

The feature related how a new touch-screen smartphone owner suffered – within a week – discomfort in her wrists, and numbness cum loss of strength in the fingers. Her Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor diagnosed that her affliction was related to the daily usage of her touch-screen device.

What was her usage profile like? She played with the phone every 15 minutes, played games and surfed the net when she rode on the bus, occasionally used it at work to check for information, and sent SMS and email while lying in bed prior to falling asleep.

Does it sound like your usage profile?

The 31-year-old tutor related how her wrists felt bruised, and how she had problems typing and holding drinking cups. Her conditions only improved after regular “Tui Na” (a form of TCM massage) and cutting down on her usage.

Another new touch-screen device user also experienced signs of muscle fatigue and discomfort to the fingers and neck. This 42-year-old chauffeur spends four to five hours every night playing games on the device, sometimes persisting even when his fingers ached.

Use of touch screen devices leads to more hand fatigue and injuries.

A TCM doctor from Income Healthcare observed that the unrestrained usage of touch-screen devices has become the leading cause of muscle fatigue and injury, and the number of patients seeking treatment from clinics for such symptoms has increased gradually.

Because the muscles and nerves cannot withstand the prolonged and repeated typing and gesturing of the fingers necessitated by the use of touch-screen devices, fatigue and injuries to the fingers, wrists, muscles and joints occur, the TCM doctor told my paper.

Perhaps it’s time to examine our own usage of touch-screen devices that are increasingly encroaching into our digital lifestyle.