Help for the typing wounded: Handheld dependency a pain in the thumb

Hand therapists warn of an increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, and physicians are starting to see new cases.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. May 23/30, 2005.

Kent Willyard, MD, a family physician in Newport News, Va., remembers the day a particular patient -- a lawyer -- came to see him, complaining of pain and stiffness in both of his thumbs. Though overuse injuries are common enough in Dr. Willyard's practice, the cause in this case was a new one. "He said he thought he'd been using his BlackBerry too much."

This was Dr. Willyard's first brush with a syndrome the media has dubbed "BlackBerry thumb," an overuse injury from employment of handheld electronic devices that depend on the operator's thumb dexterity. Increasingly, cases are being seen in physicians' offices, primarily because the devices are becoming more popular. According to Gartner Inc., a research and advisory firm, 510,000 BlackBerries -- wireless e-mail devices operated with both thumbs -- were sold in the second quarter of 2004, a sharp jump from only 131,100 in the second quarter of 2003.

"[BlackBerries] have become a common tool, but they have very tiny keyboards. It's not a normal way to use your thumb," said Stuart Hirsch, MD, clinical assistant professor of orthopedics at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., who has treated several patients with this specific ailment. "It can lead to an overuse syndrome and repetitive strain."

The uptick in interest led the American Society of Hand Therapists to issue in January a consumer education alert warning that heavy use of handhelds such as BlackBerries and iPods can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome and related conditions. "These devices are immensely popular and they are getting smaller with even more features, which encourage heavy, extended use," said ASHT president Donna Breger Stanton. "More of the population could suffer hand ailments unless they learn to take preventive measures."