Selfie wrist: A new health problem of the digital age

According to Fox News, there have been several incidents in recent years which doctors have diagnosed as selfie wrist.

Your next selfie could be your most painful one, research suggests. People are complaining about getting a ‘selfie wrist’ caused by them repeatedly using their phone’s camera to take a photo of themselves. ‘Selfie wrist’ is a form of carpal tunnel syndrome. People who experience selfie wrist may feel a tingling or sharp pain, which comes from flexing your wrist inward or holding your phone too long without moving.

People who experience selfie wrist may feel a tingling or sharp pain, which comes from flexing your wrist inward or holding your phone too long without moving. (Unsplash)

According to Fox News, there have been several incidents in recent years which doctors have diagnosed as selfie wrist. The findings appeared in the Irish Medical Journal. The incidents included the selfie-taker jumping on a trampoline, walking on rocks or just not paying attention and ending up breaking their wrist from falling or colliding with other objects.

A 2018 study discovered that between October 2011 and November 2017 there had been 259 deaths associated with taking a selfie, with the most concentrated deaths coming from the U.S., India, Russia and Pakistan.