Eight-year-old text queen has repetitive strain injury

[Angel]

An eight-year-old girl has been diagnosed with repetitive strain injury after texting too much on her mobile phone.

Isabelle Taylor sends so many messaged to her friends every day she has damaged her wrist and hands as a result.

The schoolgirl, who lives at St Annes, Lancashire said she first noticed pain in her wrists before it spread into her fingers. Technically known as Tendiopathy, the condition is more common than you would think, according to chiropractor, Dr David Cosgrove, who is treating Isabelle for her injuries.

He said: "I reckon I see two cases a month. A lot of youngsters who play their Playstations or use their phones a lot can suffer inflammation which can be quite painful in the upper arms and wrists.

"Many times the pains are put down to growing pains when actually there is something else causing it."

Last night Isabelle vowed to continue texting her friends and says without it her social life would be hampered.

"I'm not going to stop," she said."Me and all my friends talk to each other with texts, so I can't not text them.

"It was very painful, but now the doctor has helped me out and it's nearly all gone."

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is so concerned by the modern phenomenon it has written a guide for phone users warning about "text message injury." Other electronic gadgets such as MP3 players and games consoles may also cause RSI.

Dr Cosgrave added: "Text messaging regularly, over a long period of time, could causes repetitive strain, which is causing both short and long-term injuries.

"When you are text messaging, you tend to hold your shoulders and upper arms tense.

"This cuts down the circulation to the forearm, when, in fact, it needs a greater than normal blood flow to achieve the fine movements of the thumbs and fingers." Isabelle is now making a good recovery and is determined to carry on texting There is no medication available to treat the condition. It is rectified by rest and doing a few simple exercises.

Tim Hutchful, a spokesman for the British Chiropractor Association, said: "As mobile phone technology develops, mobiles are getting smaller, with buttons closer together.

"Small, fine movements tend to aggravate more than larger movements - this coupled with the smaller buttons can lead to injury as smaller buttons are harder to activate." The BCA has put together some simple exercises to prevent other children developing injuries from texting.

They include:

Neck muscle stretch - Try to make a double chin, to stretch the muscles at the base of the neck. Hold this position for two to three seconds and repeat three times. Always stretch very slowly.

Shoulder shrug - Shrug your shoulders towards your ears. Hold for three seconds and then relax.

Wrist stretch - Stretch the wrist backwards, hold for three seconds, then stretch it forwards.

Finger spread - Spread the fingers as wide apart as you can, hold for three seconds, then bunch them into a fist and hold for three seconds.

Make a fist - Hold the arm at right angles from the elbow. Make a fist and tense it, and the whole of your arm. Hold for two to three seconds, then relax and let the arm flop to your side. This will help the blood flow and tone the muscles.