If you're reading this on your phone, had you considered the possibility that you might be getting a bizarre condition that's being reported called 'smartphone pinky' at all?
No, you probably hadn't, but there are a growing number of people online who think that the way they hold their mobile could be affecting their hands.
You see, because we spend so much time online and holding our phones nowadays, some folks are starting to complain that their little finger is bending in such a way that can only seemingly be because of the constant phone-holding.
If you take a cursory glance at TikTok or Twitter, you'll find a whole host of people complaining about their 'deformed' fingers, and claiming that it is their phone causing the change.
Now, the irony of posting on social media about how your phone is destroying your hand isn't lost on us, but is it actually something to be worried about?
Well, some are worried about it.
One person tweeted: "I have an actual #iphone injury. My finger has bent and will not straighten. Need to change the way I hold my phone."
Whilst having a little bend in your pinky is unlikely to do you that much damage, some experts believe that it could be damaging to your hand in the long run.
Lloyds Pharmacy pharmacist Pareena Patel told The Sun that there is no clinical evidence about what the condition is, or whether it actually exists, but said that it could be caused by the repetitive strain of constantly holding a device.
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She explained: "Smartphone pinky is a social phenomenon thought to be caused by frequent smartphone use. This is where users have reported a dent on their pinky finger from holding their smartphone too much.
"While there is no clinical evidence yet to suggest that smartphones can damage our pinkies specifically, nor is this an official medical condition or term, there are reasons to believe excessive phone use can impact our muscular function and may damage our joints particularly in the thumb and wrist area.
"For example, we know is that repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a common condition which affects the muscles and nerves if they are overused or subject to frequent repetitive movements."
Anyway, according to Patel it isn't 'smartphone pinky' that you want to be worried about. You need to be thinking about getting repetitive strain injury from holding your phone.
She said: "Some research has also found that smartphone overuse can cause pain in the thumb, and can even decrease hand function."
Outside of simply stopping using your phone so much - imagine that, right? - you can stop alleviate the pain of RSI by just performing exercises such as closing your hand into a fist and releasing it slowly for a few times, a few times a day.
Or, you could do some actually physiotherapy exercises to ease the stress in your hands.
However, as we've already covered, you could just put the phone down for a bit.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Technology, Weird, Health
