| tion_start --> | | | | While an orthopedic physician must administer |
| Anyone who's spent a few hours playing video | | | | specialized testing for De Quervain's, massage |
| games or text messaging should know that | | | | therapists should be aware of the treatment |
| experiencing pain or cramping in the thumb and | | | | options available. A combination of treatments is |
| wrist area is to be expected. However, what you | | | | typically considered the most beneficial course of |
| might not know is that this irritation is actually a | | | | action, as simply applying one at a time most |
| stress injury caused by extreme thumb over-use, | | | | likely will not alleviate the symptoms. |
| called de Quervain's Tendonitis. This condition, | | | | Today's reliability on electronics such as cell |
| more commonly known in today's technological | | | | phones, mp3 players and handheld video games, |
| age as "Blackberry Thumb", is increasingly | | | | requires repetitive movements of the thumb and |
| affecting users of small electronic gadgets. | | | | wrist, making de Quervain's injuries more |
| Symptoms of de Quervain's Tendonitis can range | | | | prevalent. With massage being one of the most |
| from minor irritations such as soreness and | | | | effective methods of treatment for this condition, |
| swelling, to much more serious ones like | | | | massage therapists should be well informed about |
| numbness, or in severe cases, the inability to | | | | the causes, symptoms, and treatments, as well |
| move the thumb at all. This type of pain should | | | | as ways to prevent this thumb impairment from |
| not be ignored, and if not addressed promptly, it | | | | becoming a serious injury. |
| has the potential to become a very serious injury. | | | | |