BlackBerry Thumb?
BlackBerry Thumb?
If “BlackBerry thumb” sounds to you like something that might bother berry pickers, then you’re probably not an on-the-go workaholic who needs to constantly send and receive e-mails, even when you can’t get to a computer.
A BlackBerry is a wireless, handheld device with a full QWERTY type keypad. Regular BlackBerry users quickly become adept at typing with their thumbs. The problem is that thumbs are not as nimble as fingers, so people who can’t even sit down for a cup of coffee without tapping away on their BlackBerries (or similar devices such as Sidekicks and Treos) may develop repetitive stress injury.
And that injury now has a name: BlackBerry thumb.
In many cases, BlackBerry thumb may require icing to relieve pain. More serious cases are treated with cortisone shots and even surgery. But before patients reach that extreme, they might try a special massage that’s been developed for BlackBerry thumb.
Sometime over the past year, savvy hotel managers realized that some of their business class guests were suffering from BlackBerry-related thumb fatigue. So now, if your thumbs are so painful and throbbing that you can’t even think about tapping out an e-mail, and if you also happen to be in the right hotel, you can order a thumb massage.
No kidding. A trained masseuse will apply warm oil to your thumbs and forearms, and knead, stretch, rub, and apply acupressure until your thumbs feel like they’re attached to your hand again instead of feeling like they’re attached to an e-mail torture device.
