Now repetitive strain injury has hit Blackberry users. My physical therapist just told me that the incidence of “Blackberry Thumb”, the strain of the thumbs due to overuse from typing on the tiny Blackberry keyboards, is growing rapidly. I assume this would include any of the PDAs with mini-built-in keyboards.
Occasionally I feel the stress on my thumbs from typing on my Treo. Thankfully, I don’t type long messages that way, or reply to many emails on the Treo but rather do a lot of reading rather than sending. I bought a Palm IR keyboard to help me type longer messages and documents. It definitely helps a lot.
But I definitely want to avoid “Blackberry Thumb”. I have enough problems with my body as it is!
You’d think that someone would have invented a better physical interface now for small devices. I hope somebody is looking into this. Our huge human thumbs aren’t meant for tiny keyboards like that. Or perhaps, we need to build up tolerance from our youth, just like in any physical activity. I wonder what the incidence of “Blackberry Thumb” is among younger populations…?