Sending yet another email from her iPad, Judith Beales realised the little finger on her left hand was aching again. She had noticed the pain a few days before while changing her then six-month-old daughter Emily’s nappy but now it was back.
‘It was so painful I thought I’d dislocated it, but I couldn’t think how,’ says the 36-year-old Pilates instructor. ‘Then I noticed my finger had a little bump on it. I did a bit of research online but I couldn’t really find any answers. It was worrying.’
So, when she next saw her mother Glynis, she asked her what she thought was wrong.
Scroll down for video
Judith Beales from Angmaering in West Sussex who suffer from ‘textitis’ – arthritis in the hands caused by using their iPad/phone too much
‘She told me it looked like arthritis – she had seen similar lumps and bumps on my dad’s hands and knew exactly what it looked like,’ says Judith, from Worthing, West Sussex. ‘I wasn’t convinced. For me, vanity immediately took over. it couldn’t be arthritis, I thought, because I was far too young.
‘But not only my dad but my granddad had suffered from arthritis, so I slowly started to accept mum knew what she was talking about. If I was honest, I knew she was right. I’d done a course on orthopaedics as part of my Pilates training and we had covered arthritis. Looking at my finger, I was convinced I had it.’
-
‘I see a filtered and duckfaced world’: Ronda Rousey slams…
Game of CLONES! Male Instagram star reveals his incredible…
‘My bum is the size of a JCB!’ Victoria Wood fan’s hilarious…
Is COCAINE the key to a relaxing massage? FEMAIL tests…
Arthritis, inflammation and stiffness in a joint, usually affects only much older people in their 60s and 70s, so what was going on?
Judith’s problem had a very modern cause: her texting. In fact, doctors have coined a term for the swollen and aching fingers they are seeing in increasing numbers: textitis.
While there are several causes for osteoarthritis, the degenerative form of the condition is often caused by wear and tear
While there are several causes for osteoarthritis, the degenerative form of the condition is often caused by wear and tear.
It occurs when the smooth cartilage which covers the end of bones and helps the joints to move smoothly becomes thinner and rougher. The bone underneath attempts to repair the damage but sometimes overgrows, altering the joint’s shape.
Usually the joints that get most use, such as hips and knees, are most likely to be affected but our increased use of laptops and smart phones makes our fingers and thumbs work so hard (the average person touches their phone 2,500 times a day) experts are now increasingly seeing the problem in our hands, too.
When Judith’s research led her to this revelation, she was astonished: ‘I began noticing how I was doing things and I realised that I held my iPad and iPhone in my left hand in such a way that my little finger took most of the weight’
When Judith’s research led her to this revelation, she was astonished: ‘I began noticing how I was doing things and I realised that I held my iPad and iPhone in my left hand in such a way that my little finger took most of the weight.’
So, for the three or four hours a day she spent on her tablet or phone, her little finger was being bashed up and down as she typed or swiped with her other hand.
‘Now I’ve got a constant, low-level ache in my finger,’ says Judith, ‘which any damp weather makes worse. Sometimes I find it hard to squeeze with my left hand and it can be agony if my daughter suddenly grips it.
‘I never dreamed using a tablet or smart phone could give me arthritis.’
For the three or four hours a day she spent on her tablet or phone, her little finger was being bashed up and down as she typed or swiped with her other hand
The term textitis was coined after American hand surgeon Dr Mark Ciaglia revealed last month how patients with problems in their joints are getting increasingly younger. He now sees patients younger than 40, compared to just a few years ago when almost all were at least 50. He knew what was to blame.
‘With texting and video games and excessive use of computers and typing, you are wearing the joints out sooner,’ he says.
British physiotherapist Sammy Margo agrees: ‘Historically we rarely treated hands, it was mainly spines but now the incidence of hand problems as well as spine problems is on the increase.
‘We’re seeing people who have these injuries and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. That’s because children leaving school today are the first generation to have grown up with touch screens, so I fear we’re heading towards a ticking timebomb for so many.
Mel Sevieri, 25, from Plymouth, Devon, also suffers from ‘textitis’
‘Our opposing thumbs were designed to create things, to mould things, not to constantly do small repetitive movements like we do as we text.’
Women are more likely than men to have osteoarthritis and people can also be genetically predisposed to it.
Rod Hughes, a rheumatologist at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, says gaming and texting can cause two problems in our hands: ‘First there is the immediate problem of the overuse of tendons from the thumb to the forearm. This tendon overstrain is painful but it doesn’t cause osteoarthritis.
The left-handed university student from Plymouth says: ‘I spend all day on my touch screen phone. Even in lectures and eating dinner, I’m constantly checking my phone. I once checked Instagram 120 times in a day’
‘Then there’s the overuse of the carpo-metacarpal joint at the base of the thumb. This can produce a clicking or cracking sensation at the bottom of the thumb due to ligament strain. This may predispose you to osteoarthritis in later years.’
Already several ailments have been linked to new technology. There’s texter’s neck (pain in your neck caused by looking down at the screen for too long) and selfie elbow (similar to tennis elbow and caused by continually stretching your arm out to take a photo).
This is the first time arthritis has been implicated as a result of our love of screens, however. Mel Sevieri is just 25 but fears her obsession with social media is causing arthritis in her thumb.
The left-handed university student from Plymouth says: ‘I spend all day on my touch screen phone. Even in lectures and eating dinner, I’m constantly checking my phone. I once checked Instagram 120 times in a day.
‘About two months ago, I noticed my left hand felt tingly and if I touched my forearm, it sent a shooting pain to my index finger’
‘About two months ago, I noticed my left hand felt tingly and if I touched my forearm, it sent a shooting pain to my index finger.
‘I went to see my GP, who ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome but didn’t know what else it could be. The minute I heard about textitis, I knew that’s what I had.
‘If I hold my phone for more than five minutes, my hand starts to ache. Sometimes I feel like I need to click my thumb to get rid of the pain but I can’t. Other times I can feel the left thumb clicking.
‘I really don’t want arthritis this young because nowadays you just can’t avoid using computers and phones. Everything is online. You even have to log on to see your family’s photos. It’s quite scary.
‘Nowadays I put my phone down the second my hand starts to ache. I would like to use technology less but it’s impossible; it’s how I communicate with people, keep up with the news and write to-do lists.’
While there is no cure for osteoarthritis, it can be managed so that it doesn’t worsen.
NHS advice is to keep exercising the joint and to lose any excess weight to avoid extra strain being put on joints. Doctors recommend ibuprofen to relieve severe pain.
Physio Sammy Margo recommends trying to prevent it: ‘Take regular breaks and routinely stretch out your finger joints.
‘Choose a model with bigger buttons and keep changing the hand you’re holding it in so one hand isn’t doing all the hard work.
‘Keep texts short; send one word answers and use dictation software that writes what you say. So if you’ve got an iPhone, use Siri, or the “voice notes” function on Whats App.’