With how easily accessible the world can be nowadays, having your phone in the palm of your hand at all times is very normal. Your smartphone has so many functions that you use in your day-to-day life. Besides making phone calls, sending text messages or checking and responding back to emails, your smartphone can calculate, act as a ruler, act as your own professional camera, set reminders with your voice and just about anything else (within reason) that you can think of. Let’s face it, smartphones are always going to be close to your body because we rely on them a lot more than people think and since that’s the case, there are some concerns that should be taken into consideration. For example, though it’s a small phone, should people be exposing parts of the body to all of that radiation constantly? Is having an electronic device that is accessible to you really beneficial? Is your smartphone triggering your arthritis?
How Rheumatoid Arthritis Affects You Physically
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects many parts of the body. This autoimmune disorder occurs when your immune system begins to attack your own body’s tissue.
This chronic medical condition can affect more than just your joints. It can affect the skin, lungs, heart, blood vessels and even the eyes. It affects the lining of your joints, which can cause painful swelling and bone erosion.
Rheumatoid arthritis could also cause joint deformity and inflammation in other parts of the body.
Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include joint pain and stiffness. If it spreads, you may experience stiffness in the shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and elbows, inflammation in the kidneys, heart, eyes, skin, lungs, nerve tissue, bone marrow and more.
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Could Your Phone Be A Trigger?
When it comes to an inflammation flare-up with rheumatoid arthritis, there are many things that could be a trigger.
Not getting enough exercise could trigger a flare-up because that means your joints are starting to stiffen from lack of movement.
Not eating properly can trigger a flare-up because you’re not giving your body the nutrients it needs to help it function better. There are many reasons why you may have a flare-up but another reason can be your smartphone.
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Your phone is in your hand and being used all day long, if not most of the day. When it comes to placements and how phones are held, there is definitely a link to your phone being a trigger for your arthritis.
Repetitive motion puts stress on your joints in your fingers. Your fingers are where an RA flare-up will usually start.
Constantly texting in a repeated motion can cause stress. Using your phone constantly can also cause stress to your wrist, and even your neck. When using your phone, your neck is usually bent down looking at it. If you’re constantly in a bent-over position and RA is known to affect the shoulders, this could cause stress and stiffness to your joints.
What To Do When You Feel Your Arthritis Flaring
If you live with rheumatoid arthritis and feel yourself in pain, this could mean that inflammation is occurring. In the event of inflammation flaring up, first identify where the pain is.
Once you’ve identified where the pain is, stop and take a look at what you’re doing. If you are using your smartphone, texting, scrolling on social media or watching videos, stop immediately.
If you are actively moving and experiencing pain, stop for a moment and rest. If possible, try stretching and see if that helps. Take a warm and moist towel and put it on the area you are experiencing pain to help loosen up the stiffness in the joints.
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Other Health Problems Your Phone Could Cause
Besides your phone triggering joint pain and rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups, there are other health problems that can come with using your phone too much.
Using your phone too much can cause dry eyes and vision problems. When staring at a screen for long periods of time, the eye doesn’t blink as much as it needs to. This causes dry eyes and can lead to trouble with vision later on down the line.
Another health concern that can come from using your phone excessively is cancer. Though this health condition can take years to develop, there is a link between mobile phones and cancer because of the exposure to radiation.
As helpful as smartphones are, it’s important to remember that using them too much can cause serious problems in the future. Try limiting your screen and phone usage and see how well it impacts your life.
