How To Treat Cell Phone Elbow

If your nighttime ritual involves holding your telephone to your face and scrolling through Twitter or watching a couple (dozen) YouTube videos, you may notice your arm hurts the side by side day.

That pain has a proper noun: "jail cell phone elbow," medically known every bit ulnar nerve entrapment or cubital tunnel syndrome. Simply put, keeping an arm flexed for hours while holding a phone can put some serious strain on the ulnar nerve. This stress can stretch and tuck the nerve while limiting its blood supply.

What's happening to your arm

The ulnar nerve runs the length of the arm, from cervix to pinkie, and information technology's the largest nerve in the human trunk not protected by muscle or bone. It gives awareness to your pinky and ring fingers and the portion of your palm below those digits. The most mutual identify for this nerve to bind upwardly is in that little groove on the outside of your elbow—the area y'all may know as your "funny bone."

This can happen whenever your body remains in a flexed, static position for too long. "Motion is life," says chiropractor Rudy Gehrman, noting that our relatively immobile lives make the states susceptible to repetitive stress injuries like strained or pinched nerves. That stress creates microtraumas every bit muscles, ligaments, and tendons all first to stretch or shrink in means they are not supposed to, he explains.

In the case of cell phone elbow, continually flexing your arm stretches the ulnar nerve, which tin can cause tingling or numbness in your outer fingers. Left untreated, it can lead to permanent nerve damage and muscle degradation.

How to prevent cell phone elbow

As with any sort of physical health issue, prevention is central, says Gehrman, who is also CEO of Physio Logic, a New York Metropolis-based physical wellness eye. "Yous've got to be really conscientious because it's not like shooting fish in a barrel to get a nerve to heal," he warns.

Exist mindful of all situations where your elbow is hyperflexed, or resting in ane position for a long time. Ane obvious situation is when you lot're on the phone or at your computer. Gehrman suggests exploring hands-gratis engineering options, like headsets, for calls.

You tin too hurt your ulnar nerve by sleeping with your arms aptitude all nighttime. If you're having problem breaking that habit, Gehrman suggests trying something like an elbow brace.

If you must be at your desk or otherwise seated for long stretches of fourth dimension, exist certain to inject periodic movement or quick exercises into your day, especially if you don't work out. A few overhead presses or arm curls can assist keep things limber. Motion is central, but it'south also important to pay attention to your body then y'all tin recognize the signs of cell phone elbow early and act fast.

How to care for prison cell telephone elbow

If your elbow hurts and your arm feels weak, y'all should seek professional aid. Just if you only take some mild soreness or numbness, you can treat the trouble at home.

Beginning, appraise the state of affairs, Gehrman says. Starting from your pinky finger, use your other hand to feel where any pain or stiffness might be coming from, and continue all the style upwardly to your shoulder. Pay attending to your outer forearm, peculiarly below the elbow, which is often one of the first places you'll notice the muscular effects of cell phone elbow. Gently massage any areas that seem stiff or sensitive. If your elbow is sore, you tin massage the tissue around the nerve, but be careful non to massage the nerve itself—that tin cause more than damage, he cautions.

Beyond that, keeping your blood flowing and exercising your limbs' full range of motion tin unstick any tissues in your arm that are over-compressed. Keep those habits upwardly even later on you're feeling good then yous these lessons don't go to waste—the more you movement, the less y'all'll regret scrolling TikTok until y'all pass out.

Source: https://www.popsci.com/story/diy/cell-phone-elbow-pain/

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