iRSI: Something else to add to your health woes

When it's not solving unemployment, or melting your brain, your iPhone could be responsible for causing repetitive strain injury (RSI), the British Chiropractic Association told the Sun. The problem is particularly evident in winter, the association says, and could spread to your elbow if you're not careful. The association …

[Anonymous Coward]

Why indeed

'Why the iPhone is a worse culprit than any other mobile phone is unclear. We're just pleased that someone's got our back'

Maybe because other phones wouldn't have made the headlines?

Seriously though, shouldn't the exercise you get rubbing your ears to get rid of the tinitus caused by the high volume reduce the chance for the RSI related injuries? Or does that add to them...

[bRick]

This makes no sense...

The iPhone is almost entirely controlled by the touch screen, the very very least amount of effort is still enough to register on it.

How could this possibly cause more strain than actually depressing buttons- which would require more force???

[Nìall Tracey]

It does make sense.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed medical practitioner, so if anything that follows concerns you, please discuss with your GP or specialist. Any concerns about the equipment you have been provided with by your employer should be raised with your line management or health and safety department.

The article said:

"Why the iPhone is a worse culprit than any other mobile phone is unclear."

bRick said:

"The iPhone is almost entirely controlled by the touch screen, the very very least amount of effort is still enough to register on it.

How could this possibly cause more strain than actually depressing buttons- which would require more force???"

Although it seems counter-intuitive, touch-screens and similar "zero-force" buttons/mechanism actually result in a greater pressure on the finger.

With a normal button, there is a big difference between pressing and not pressing. This means that you can relax up until the moment of depression.

However, with a touch-screen, the slightest contact can result in an accidental click, and slips and poor contact result in unintended actions. To avoid this, the user learns to tense both the flexors (bending muscles) and extensors (straightening muscles) in the fingers. The two muscles then fight against each other and strain the finger and arm slowly, over time.

The high sales of mini travel mice are a consequence of this: people hate trackpads as they cause finger-pain.

[andy rock]

how...

...is the iPhone(y) any more likely to give me RSI than wanking in a funny position? seriously, if you do anything incorrectly, for too long, etc it will mess your joints up. end of story.

trust the bloody Sun to make a story out of fuck all. oh, hang on...

[Anonymous Coward]

Mousey-mousey

The mini travel mice I hand out to folk who borrow laptops from our pool are there because trackpads are generally plain old fucking shite. Unreliable and unpredictable, and mices are much betterer.

[Nicolas Fanget]

Thieves and charlatans

That's my opinion of chiropractors. I took my wife to a registered chiro for her back, we had to go back every week at £20 a pop for "re-adjustments" that take ~5 minutes. £700 later still not better so sent her to the NHS physio, who was wonderful, even researched her sport (she's an athlete my missus) to make sure she was giving her the right advice. And free! Although you do have to wait a bit (as it was not urgent), best professional we came across.

And I'd like an explanation from chiros for this: if you look after yourself (sport, yoga, pilates etc), how do they justify their claim that everyone should get "re-adjusted" regularly (I think they recommend monthly)? Basically their point is: if you don't exercise, chiro can replace it for your back, if you do exercise, you stress your back and therefore need chiro. Talk about circular thinking!

[Billy Beans]

Re: Thieves and charlatans

Holy **** yeah. Chiropractic is the biggest scam going at the moment. They strut around like real doctors, but have had a fraction of the training of a real medical doctor. And if you hear the shit they come out with, the mind of rational being will boggle.

I recommend a visit to http://chirobase.org for anyone considering it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Really? (Re: Thieves and Charlatans)

I must have been lucky with my chiropractor then (after being unlucky with the physio, that is).

I went along after a chronically bad misdiagnosis by a physio. The techniques the chiro used on the (free) initial consultation to determine my problems convinced me the man understood the problem. The physio had identified my neck alignment as the source of my problems (causing a pinching on the nerves) after a description of my symptoms and reaction to stretches. The chiropractor prodded my arms while investigating and he located all the immediate source of the irritation -- the arm. Within a month, half of the pain was gone (after a year of desperation and depression in constant pain). He slowly reduced my visits and eventually told me I only needed to come back if it hurt again. (None of this fabled "you should come every X months", although I was perfectly prepared to tell him where to go if he said it.)

Oh, and to spend more time away from the compu<NO CARRIER>

[Anonymous Coward]

@ AC (Re: Thieves and Charlatans)

Same here, I went to the Chiropractor with dodgy knees after trying physio, and my treatment was pretty much physio exercises and active release techniques, which seemed to work rather well.

However my Chiro also didn't spout any new age guff, their diagnosis matched the sports physio and they didn't suggest anything other than going back for a checkup every 6 months or so to catch any problems early, which to be fair you can't fault them on to badly, I may not have toothache, but I still go for dental checkups.

Looking at some of the US websites it's really rather scary what some people will believe, if I'd been told any of that by any healthcare professional I'd have walked right away! Looks like I got lucky.