Why texting is putting your health in danger

We’ve all been preached to about the side effects of mobile phone use, including selfie elbow and tech neck. But, now there’s a new term for the side effects of excessive smart phone use – texitis.

The term refers to cartilage damage that comes about as a result of too much texting. While there are no studies around it yet, Dr Mark Ciaglia, a prominent orthopedic hand surgeon from Texas, said he’s seeing more younger patients than ever due to their excessive texting.

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“With the advent of texting and video games and excessive use of computers and typing, people are wearing their joints out sooner. We're actually seeing a shift in the demographics of patients that get arthritis because of it,” said Dr Ciaglia.

“At the end of the day it comes down to wear and tear from how many times you’re moving a joint back and forth where the cartilage covers the bone. The more things you do and the more aggressive you are with it, the sooner you might develop this condition.”

So while texting might feel like second nature, if you’re experiencing soreness in your hands, there are ways around it – you can stick to Siri or the audio function in iMessage.

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