Claim: Arthritis comes from too much texting

Question

This claim is partly true. Arthritis can come from many different things but mostly comes from repeated movements and affects the joints used to make that movement. When texting, you are moving your fingers in a rapid unnatural movement. This causes strain on the joints and arthritis may develop overtime with age or genetic makeup depending on the individual.

Answer 1

Overall, this claim is not true. Arthritis happens over time and with age, and can also be a genetic thing. From what I have gained through the articles I read, texting does put pressure on the same joints will cause them to wear down, but arthritis takes a long time to develop.

 https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/can-texting-give-you-arthritis

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/is-there-a-link-between-hand-pain-and-your-smartphone-use

Answer 2

The short answer is no. Arthritis cannot cause texting. While texting can contribute inflammation and exacerbate underlying arthritis issues, it's not proven that texting can directly cause arthritis. Dr. Natalie Azar, the NBC News medical contributor mentioned in the article, explains that wear and tear can risk osteoarthritis, but there just isn't enough data to support this as of yet. Remember, phone texting hasn't been around for that long compared to other things that work your fingers a lot, like wood-working. We have used our fingers on things repeatedly in the past for activities such as writing. But there also isn't enough data to support a cause between arthritis and writing either, despite writing existing for ages. I think it's false to claim a causation between texting and arthritis as of right now.

Source

https://www.today.com/health/aging/texting-thumb-rcna221770

Answer 3

This claim is exaggerated or slightly misleading. After looking at a few articles, UCLA Health states, "The repeated, unnatural motion can lead to tendonitis and inflammation of the thumb flexor and tendons. Overuse can cause inflammation and pain associated with arthritis". Although texting doesn't directly cause arthritis, it certainly can contribute to it and worsen the condition. Dr. Natalie Azar, an NBC News medical contributor and rheumatologist at NYU Langone Health states that "Repetitive movement actually doesn't contribute to arthritis. It can exacerbate underlying arthritis, but it's not a direct cause". This article explains that humans have been doing certain tasks for centuries like sewing and writing and these don't directly cause arthritis. In the future, this statistic might change. In conclusion, texting does not cause arthritis. 

Sources: Can texting give you arthritis? | UCLA Health

Can your smartphone give you arthritis? A doctor explains 'texting thumb'

Answer 4

This claim that texting can cause arthritis is partly true. Arthritis is a chronic health condition where your body can cause pain or stiffness. A very common condition, affecting around 60 million Americans today, can possibly be connected to texting too much on your cellphone. A UCLA Health study explains that the average person with a phone texts around 5-6 hours every day. When texting, your thumbs move very often and quickly, which can lead to inflammation in the thumb joint and tendon. With this overused joint movement, experts are starting to see a connection between typing on your phone to an early diagnosis of arthritis, yet, "texting is still a relatively new activity and arthritis can take many decades to develop — so the full relationship remains to be seen," says UCLA Health. Another study by Yale Medicine backs up the first claim, talking about arthritis concerns with your thumb. Dr williams, an expert mentioned in this source, explains how they have not found enough evidence that executive phone use can directly cause arthritis. Being on your phone too much can aggravate existing issues. Thinking back to the claim after reading these studies, it’s clear that the claim is misleading and exaggerated. There is no direct correlation between excess phone use and arthritis, only a factor that could increase pain in a condition that has already been diagnosed.

Sources:

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/can-texting-give-you-arthritis

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/is-there-a-link-between-hand-pain-and-your-smartphone-use

Answer 5

While this title could be true, texting is not the only factor that leads to arthritis. This disease is hereditary, but it can be induced by overuse of specific joints. In an article written by Yale Medicine, it pitches the idea that the repetitive motion of moving fingers around a screen, whether it is texting, ordering food, scrolling through media, etc., can cause arthritis. 

Along with that, Yale Medicine states that "In the US, approximately 9 out of 10 cell phone users own a smartphone." This suggests the idea that the majority of people are using a device that has a screen on it. According to the Chronic Disease Indicators, the levels of arthritis are increasing. There is no proven source that the increase of arthritis and the increase in the use of smartphones are related, but due to a common factor, it is easy to assume they are. 

Source: 

https://www.cdc.gov/cdi/indicator-definitions/arthritis.html

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/is-there-a-link-between-hand-pain-and-your-smartphone-use

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-arthritis-hereditary

Answer 6

The claim that arthritis comes from too much texting isn't fully true but also isn't totally wrong. Repetitive use of tapping, texting, and swiping on smartphones can lead to an overuse of the muscles in your hand. PubMed states that a 48 year old woman came into an outpatient primary care office and was diagnosed with de Quervain tenosynovitis which is caused by the overuse of the thumb muscle. The condition was induced by her overuse of texting on her phone. Although, Harvard says that "Using these gadgets doesn't cause osteoarthritis, but if you're prone to it, it can increase your symptoms." Therefore, texting can cause arthritis but it is not the only reason why you could have arthritis like the claim states. 

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20538752/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-surprising-side-effects-from-using-technology

Answer 7

This claim is somewhat true. According to Mayo Clinic, arthritis is the swelling of joints due to repetitive movements, typically resulting in joint pain or stiffness. Research published by UCLA Health examines how texting contributes to arthritis. The repetition of an unnatural movement like texting does in fact contribute to arthritis. However, texting does not always contribute to arthritis nor is it always the reason why arthritis develops.

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/can-texting-give-you-arthritis

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350772

Answer 8

This is false. One source states, "The mechanism and dynamics of OA development have been widely discussed in the literature and is not yet completely known." Testing is not conclusive, and scientists are not yet sure if arthritis is caused by texting yet. The source also states that, "two-handed use of cellular phone or similar devices is recommended as well as making occasional breaks, slow clicking or supporting your forearms on a surface to reduce hand overload." Therefore, studies do not conclusively show that texting causes arthritis, but what they are sure of is that any prolonged strain on the hands cannot be good for you.

The UCLA article the original claim cites says this as much "Texting is still a relatively new activity and arthritis can take many decades to develop — so the full relationship remains to be seen." Therefore, texting is not a proven cause to arthritis, and we should not make this assumption as it has not been proven.

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4719275/

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/can-texting-give-you-arthritis

Answer 9

Arthritis has a wide variety of causes (genetic factors, age, weight, etc.), but none of them are exclusively linked to too much texting. One cause of arthritis is just basic "wear and tear," or degeneration, as the UCLA article says, which could supposedly be linked to too much texting...but it's a stretch. Ultimately, any activity that you partake in that uses those joints a lot will contribute, so unless someone is exclusively texting and never using those joints to do anything else, it would be very hard to test scientifically that texting is the sole cause. So, yes, texting a lot does use those joints, but it isn't the pure medical cause of arthritis.

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350772

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/can-texting-give-you-arthritis

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/is-there-a-link-between-hand-pain-and-your-smartphone-use

https://www.today.com/health/aging/texting-thumb-rcna221770