"BlackBerry Thumb" sparks new form of hand massage
14th Nov 2006, 12:22 GMT
Many BlackBerry users feel the "BlackBerry Thumb" affect after spending hours on a hand-held e-mail device. This thumb effect results in sore thumbs, but there is a possible solution. The Hyatt hotel chain found so many of their business travelers were complaining of hand and arm discomfort that they have introduced a special "BlackBerry Balm" hand massage at most of their North American spas. Corporate spa director Kyra Johnson said guests began asking masseurs to spend more time on their hands and arms because of the growing popularity of PDA (personal digital assistant) devices like BlackBerrys and Treos. The 30-minute massage, that costs about ฮ, begins with heat treatment and uses a "BlackBerry Balm." It "focuses on counteracting tension on various hand and arm muscles, specifically in the thumbs and overworked wrists," according to a Hyatt statement. The American Physical Therapy Association recently recognized BlackBerry Thumb as an official work place malady -- a stress-related injury due to over-use of any PDA or smartphone. Ontario-based Research IN Motion Ltd's BlackBerry became a technological must-have in the late 1990s as a tool that delivers e-mail to users on the move. Professor Alan Hedge, an ergonomics specialist at Cornell University in New York state, said the condition is caused by "highly repetitive, forceful thumb movements with the thumbs held back from the palms." The symptoms are pain in the thumb and region around the base of the thumb and hand. Treatment typically consists of resting or strapping the thumb, anti-inflammatory medicines, cortisone injections and, as a last resort, surgery. News source: Reuters Read full story...
"BlackBerry Thumb" sparks new form of hand massage related news:
- 'BlackBerry Thumb' sparks new massage treatment — ZDNet News
- BlackBerry Balm massage now available — Ubergizmo
- How Do You Avoid The Dreaded BlackBerry Thumb? — BBHub
- New spa treatment targets 'BlackBerry thumb' — News at ZDNet UK
- How To Avoid 'Blackberry Thumb' — InformationWeek News
- How To Avoid 'Blackberry Thumb' (TechWeb) — Yahoo! News: Personal Technology News
- Feeding the smart phone addiction — CNET News.com
- BlackBerry Pearl Launched In India — BBHub
- Research in Motion launches new BlackBerry model — NewKerala Business India News
- BlackBerry Cool launches BBSocial site — BBHub
Latest news from Neowin.net:
- Microsoft to Add Wireless Video Sharing to the Zune
- Office 2007 System now available on MSDN
- IEEE Plans Safer Laptop Batteries
- Sun opens Java
- CompUSA to Sell Vista, Office 2007 Ahead of General Release
- Nvidia Readies 5 new GPU's?
- PowerUser.TV e59: Voting machines, Wii bundle and more!
- IBM To Help Educate China's Outsourcing Pros
- MP3 Player Owners Thieves?
- Apple Confirms In-Flight iPod Integration with Airlines