The widespread use of hand-held devices at work has spawned a new repetitive strain condition known as 'BlackBerry thumb'.
The condition is leading some lawyers to warn that employers can expect a series of lawsuits from staff claiming compensation. Karen Jackson from the law firm, Roberts Jackson, said, "If no one knows about the risks involved, they won't sue, but more and more people are becoming aware of health hazards in the workplace. BlackBerry thumb is the overuse of a mobile phone for work purposes and we envisage potential work in this area as more people are using their handsets when they're on the move, which is leading to repetitive strain injury. A lot of people displaying symptoms associated with repetitive strain injury do not realise they are work-related, but the number with symptoms is increasing."
The firm is increasing its staff numbers to cope with what it believes will be a sharp rise in BlackBerry thumb claims. Traditionally, industrial disease claims have related to asthma, asbestos-related illnesses, dermatitis, allergies and occupational deafness and tinnitus.
Doctors have previously cautioned that repetitive Blackberry use could cause arthritis or harm tendons in the thumb. Sean Hughes, professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London, said prolonged use could potentially cause wear and tear on the thumb. He commented, "People who use them a lot could suffer from osteoarthritis."
US experts have also raised concerns about repetitive Blackberry use. Professor Alan Hedge, director of the human factors and ergonomics research group at Cornell University in New York, noted in the early 1990s that people had complained of sore thumbs from playing computer games too much. He stressed, "It is the same principle. The thumb is not very flexible and repetitive use of it can lead to damage to the tendon on the outside of the thumb. The Blackberry is much more demanding than texting on phones because users tend to use them to type out emails. Maybe they should be limited to 50 words or so."
Professor Hedge warned it was quite easy to use the devices too much since, "You should not be making more than a few hundred thumb movements a day, so that does not amount to that many words when you think about it."
