Out with Carpal Tunnel, In with Cell Phone Elbow Syndrome

Along with the growing popularity of the cell phone has come a barrage of new health issues ranging from decreased fertility to cancer. Just as with the widespread use of the computer came carpel tunnel syndrome, and the wave of the Wii craze has brought Wii-itis, technological advancements do not come without a price.

Now, orthopedic specialists around the globe are seeing the worldwide strike of a new condition known as cubital tunnel syndrome (commonly called cell phone elbow) that can potentially cause long-term nerve damage. When the elbow is bent to allow for holding a cell phone to the ear, the nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers is stretched.  Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, explains that long conversations with the elbow in the bent position can “choke the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know there's tingling in the ring and small finger.”

Victims of the condition experience weakness in their hands and have difficulty opening jars or playing musical instruments. Doctors urge these cell phone users to switch hands if they feel the tingling sensations and try to cut back on their cell phone use to prevent long-term nerve damage.  According to Evans, “It could impede your typing ability, your writing ability.  People get very unintelligible writing if it gets severe.” In addition, people who develop severe cases require surgery.

Dr. Leon Benson, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons said that patients suffering from the syndrome are putting too much stress on their ulnar nerve and that over time the stress can lead to permanent damage. The ulnar nerve travels through the forearm and branches into the hand and can become weakened and scarred after repeated stretching. Although the nerves are designed for stretching,  it's not normal to be in a position to be stretched for an hour.  Benson said simply, "The more you bend it, the more it stretches.  It diminishes the blood supply, and the blood is not flowing through the nerves."

This doesn’t mean that using a cell phone is dangerous. Benson noted that cell phone elbow is not as common as carpal tunnel syndrome and can be easily avoided with the use of common sense.  He said, “It's like anything else, any sporting activity.  You can hit balls at the driving range. Just don't hit 300 of them, because you'll be sore. So common sense would dictate not to talk on the phone for hours if your small and ring fingers go numb.”

In addition to heavy cell phone users, cubital tunnel syndrome can also affect elderly people who rest their elbows on the arm of a chair or wheelchair, as well as truckers and computer users who position themselves with their elbows bent tighter than 90 degrees. Even people who sleep curled in a fetal position with their elbows overly bent can develop the condition.  Simply bending the elbow tighter than 90 degrees for an extended period of time will stretch the ulnar nerve by 8 to 15 percent, according to Evans.

The best guidelines to follow for preventing the development of cell phone elbow are to avoid activities that require the elbow to be bent tighter than 90 degrees, make adjustments to workstations that prevent the elbows from being overly flexed, and don’t  lean on your elbows for an extended period of time.