Gadgetizers beware, if your thumbs and wrists hurt from keying in responses to email on your mobile devices, you may be suffering from Blackberry Thumb.

Repetitive motion injuries, which have long afflicted desktop and laptop computer users, are invading the mobile handheld world. There’s even an informal name for the malady — “BlackBerry Thumb” — a catch-all phrase that describes a repetitive stress injury of the thumb as a result of overusing small gadget keypads.

No national statistics exist on how many people suffer from this type of thumb ailment, but some doctors say they are seeing an upswing in related cases, said Dr. Stuart Hirsch, an orthopedist at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.

“It’s mostly the road warrior who prefers to answer e-mails on a thumb keyboard,” said Hirsch. “If all you did was just answer with a simple yes and no, it would not be a dilemma.”

I don’t use tiny devices enough to suffer from the affliction, but have experienced carpel tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, an elbow problem resulting from being single too long (maybe I should delete that last one… Nah) and am currently working on coining my own phrase for something commonly called ‘brewers lip,’ but for rum consumption rather than drinking beer.

I’ve always wanted to be famous for naming a painful or disfiguring, self inflicted medical condition.

[Source: Yahoo News Via: Real Tech News]