CNN reports that health experts are warning about cell phone elbow. Health experts say that holding a cell phone to your ear for a long period of time can damage a nerve in your arm. This damage can lead to cubital tunnel syndrome. People with this condition experience a tingling and weakness in their hands. They also tend to have trouble writing, opening jars and playing instruments.
When cell phone users hold the phone to their ears, they stretch a nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers. When talkers chat for a long time in that position, it "chokes the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know, there's tingling in the ring and small finger," said Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
When that happens, the advice is simple: Switch hands -- before it gets worse.
People who have this condition, called cubital tunnel syndrome, can feel weakness in their hands and have difficulty opening jars or playing musical instruments.
"It could impede your typing ability, your writing ability," Evans said. "People get very unintelligible writing if it gets severe."
Experts advise people experiencing the problem to switch arms and talk less on the cell phone. People who talk a long-time on the cell phone may want to consider a hands-free option like a Bluetooth headset. Minor lifestyle changes can usually correct the problem but more serious cases may require an ultrasound treatment, anti-inflammatory injections or even surgery
You can read more about cell phone elbow here, here and here.
