Technology continues to wreak havoc on our bodies, whether or not we fully understand the extent of which our tech devices cause injuries, the fact is that it’s happening.
Tech neck, cell phone elbow, mouse shoulder, gamer’s thumb are all common ailments caused by our favorite devices. ImagineMD set out to analyze Google search trends and data to identify the primary ways our obsession with our devices leaves us tangled up in pain.
According to Google search trends, they are the five ailments that bother us the most:
Our thumbs bother us the most with 84,670 monthly searches for thumb ailments such as gamer’s thumb, texting thumb and smartphone thumb. It should be no surprise that our thumbs are bothering us after spending so much time on our smartphones. Tendons in the thumb or at the base of the thumb become inflamed and constricted which causes pain to the thumb.
The second most searched ailment has to do with our elbows with an average monthly search volume of 43,060 monthly searches. These elbow injuries are mainly caused by holding arms at acute angles for prolonged periods of time while using devices like tablets. Pressure is applied to the ulnar nerve that runs through the elbow and various tendons in the lower arm. Common elbow ailments are cell phone elbow, selfie elbow and numb pinky fingers.
The third most searched tech ailment for Americans has to do with neck problems. These neck injuries are commonly caused by craning the head forward towards a screen for prolonged periods of time like a normal 8 hour workday for example. People tend to experience chronic pain, tightness in neck and back muscles. People sitting in this position put significant stress on the spine and surrounding muscles. These type of injuries are commonly searched as text neck, tech neck and phone neck.
The fourth most searched tech ailment revolves around our eyes with 21,510 monthly searches. Eye injuries occur from staring at the computers and other devices with large screens for prolonged periods of time. Symptoms include headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, neck and shoulder pain. These injuries are commonly searched as computer eyes, eye fatigue and computer eye strain.
And finally the fifth most searched tech ailment revolves around our shoulders. These type of injuries are caused by maintaining rounded shoulders while interacting with devices and repetitive use of mice and touch screens. People tend to have symptoms of tightness in neck and back muscles along with chronic pain and inflammation.
To see the full analysis from ImagineMD, check out the full graphic below.
