After blackberry thumb, iPad hand and Text neck syndrome, a new tech-driven condition makes the headlines.
The name is self-explanatory - "Selfie Elbow".
Yes !! Your love for selfies can now land you with this new medical condition!!
What is it?
Just like other tech-driven conditions, or even similar to tennis elbow or golfer's elbow, this is also a form of repetitive stress injury.
Repetitive stress injury occurs when you repeat the same movement over and over again. Add to this the tricky agonising postures your elbow has to go through to get that perfect pic of yours.
Thus repetitively clicking selfies just to get that perfect pout would make you end up getting your elbows sore.
Is it common?
So obsessed are we with capturing the perfect snap of ourselves, that according to research over 17 million selfies are uploaded every week on social media!!!
So if you are a selfie addict, beware!!
Do I have "Selfie Elbow"?
If you have pain or uncomfortable feeling every time you click a selfie yes you may have it.
You need to check the warning signs to visit your practitioner:
- Persistent muscle tension
- Muscle fatigue and aching
- Sudden twinges of pain in your forearm, wrist and elbow area.
- Waking up to a stiff and sore arm in the morning
So if you have these warning signs please visit your practitioner at the earliest.
Can I prevent it?
Prevention is always better than cure.
Selfie stick is a good option but it still puts your elbow in an extended position to give that stress to the elbow. So if you click selfies like 15-20 consecutively, this won't help much.
Exercises and stretches are the best available option to prevent selfie elbow.
Treatment
Treatment remains same as tennis or golfer's elbow:
- Rest
- Ice pack
- Anti-inflammatory pills
- Physiotherapy
- Stretching and strengthening exercises.
Hence ditch the selfie and switch to the old and easy style of creating memories-ask a friend to click and remain free of this tech originated condition.