xcessive mobile phone messaging could lead to muscle and tendon damage

The boom business of text messaging has claimed its first victim in Britain, where an estimated 45 million messages are sent everyday. Louise Thompson, a 32 year old clinical psychologist from East London, is suffering from Text Message injury, TMI s newly coined term to describe damage caused to hand muscles tendons by texting. TMI's most common symptoms are swelling and inflammation and it can particularly affect the thumb.

"It's a sort of arthritic pain, an achey stiffness in my fingers and shooting pains up my forearm", says Louise, who has been sending upto 15 messages a day to her absent boyfriend, Henry Thomas, a tour guide. "Before Henry went away I might send one or two texts a day, but after he went I was sending upto 15. I have really noticed the pain. It's very disabling. It can even hamper me doing little things like making a cup of tea."

Last year, 12.2 billion messages were sent in Britain alone - a hundred percent increase on the previous year. An estimated ten billion messages are sent worldwide each month. All the indications suggest that the craze is set to get even more popular, particularly with teenagers and the 10- to 11 - year old age group--the fastest expanding sector of the UK market.

Mobile phone companies, hitherto not known for their interest in health issues, are so worried by the TMI that they have issued instructions for special exercises. Customers are now being encouraged to use abbreviated and preporgrammed messages. Virgin Mobile as part of it's "safe text" campaign, has even issued customers with a "textereiser" - a foam gadget which allows users to exercise the muscles and tendons in their fingers and thumbs.

The potentially epidemic outbreak of TMI is very similar to the emergence of Repetitive Strain Injury(RSI), which followed the rapid growth of computer use in the office. Andrew Chadwick, chief executive of the Repetitive Strain Injury Association, says his organisation now formally recognizes the condition. "We're talking about people making hundreds of tiny repeated movements as they use the mobile keypad. That's almost a perfect recipe for causing RSI", says Chadwick. "Because all the movements

are small, they do not cause the blood to circulate, and tat means the fingers are acting like an engine without oil. If mobile phone manufacturers are becoming concerned then we should be too. Usually companies never admit any problems. The trouble is that text messaging is seen as cool and fashionable so people will continue to do it even if they start to feel pain."

The other main attraction of testing, particularly for youngsters, is its relatively low cost- some UK companies are charging as little as 2 pence a message. Initially, it was feared that younger users would be most vulnerable to TMI (nearly half of all children in the UK aged seven to 16 own a cell phone and are sending an average of 2.5 messages a day), but health experts are now becoming increasingly concerned about older people. Those with bad circulation, particularly smokers or anyone under stress are thought to be particularly at risk.

The risk to children, however, remains the greatest threat and the problem could turn out to be a devastating health time bomb, with much of the real damage not surfacing until later in life. The British Society of Chiropractors has warned that although children's joints and muscles are very flexible, they are prone to injury because of the speed at which they are growing. A spokesman said: "Any repetitive moment can destroy the soft tissue and can eventually lead to serious long-term problems. Potential complications could be similar to arthritis. "It is not something that will happen tomorrow or the next day but over the next five or 10 years," added Dr Simon Pieree, a chiropractor.

As for Lousie, she has already started to receive treatment for her condition. It was diagnosed by a chiropractor and will take a number of regular sessions before she is cured, "I am constantly aware of the pain," she says. "But it gets worse when I have to type at work or after sending a few messages." The only problem is that her boyfriend is not returning from his worldwide tour until June, so the text messages look set to continue to flow between them.

Jon Stock/London

hile texting on his cell phone one day, Nitin Chandy, 26, felt an excruciating pain in his thumb. "I suddenly locked," says the audio engineering student in Chennai.

On an average, Nitin send between 15-20 text messages a day, and 25 on some days. "The first time I felt he pain comes and goes and has recently moved upto my palm. I can't bend my fingers or clennch my fist."

Nitin consulted an orthopaedic specialist in Mumbai and told the doctor that the pain occurred first while test messaging. The orthopaedic - like most other doctors in India - had heard about RSI and radiation, but not about the adverse effects of text messaging.

The dangers of excessive text messaging are practically unknown, in India, despite there being nearly 6 million cell phones in use. As in the UK, text messaging is considered extremely cool and fashionable in this country too. No surprises then that approximately ten million messages are sent every day in India.

True, text messaging makes economic sense. Sending an SMS costs about Rs. 1, less than half the price of a mobile call. Besides, incoming messages are free. Owing to its cost effectiveness the growth rate of text messaging is estimated at 10 percent a month.

For most users, besides the economic factor, speed and reliability beckon. It is the best way to get your point across without indulging in long-drawn conversations. Though SMS attracts all tech-savvy people, research indicates that the highest users in India are between the ages of 23-35. they are the ones at risk too.

Diya Mathew