The popularity of the augmented-reality mobile-game Pokemon Go has led to a rash of tendon inflammation cases over the past week, a doctor at Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital said.
There has been a marked increase in the number of people complaining of pain in the neck, wrist and fingers caused by tenosynovitis, physical therapist Cheng Yu-hsuan (鄭宇軒) said, referring to inflammation of the lining of the sheath that surrounds a tendon.
Most of them shared one thing in common: spending hours catching creatures on the popular mobile app, he said.
Cheng cited as an example a 27-year-old patient who complained of debilitating pain in the thumb.
An examination showed that the patient had de Quervain’s tenosynovitis caused by repetitive use of the thumb to “throw pokeballs” on the touch screen of a mobile phone, Cheng said.
Mobile-game players often develop “trigger finger” or carpal tunnel syndrome, he added.
“Trigger finger refers to inflammation of the flexor tendon or annular ligament, which leads to localized pain, difficulty in straightening the fingers or twitchiness when they are straightened,” he said.
“Carpal tunnel syndrome refers to compression of the nerves caused by repeated motions of the wrist and fingers, such as holding a cellphone, resulting in numb fingers or loss of strength,” he said.
Prolonged craning of the neck that accompany excessive mobile phone use may also overburden the muscles in the back of the neck and the upper back, which is linked to a host of disorders, such as strained neck muscles, premature cervical vertebrae aging, herniated disc and spinal nerve compression, he said.
Mobile app players and other heavy cellphone users are vulnerable to the aforementioned conditions, he said, urging people who use smart devices to avoid staying in one position for too long, and to take periodic breaks and flex their hand and neck muscles once every 30 minutes or every hour.
Those who experience any discomfort in the shoulder, neck, upper back or hand should seek medical treatment immediately to prevent their condition from worsening, he added.
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