Amy Lu's View

My smart phone is trying to kill me–and it’s not with 5G.

“My smart phone is trying to kill me–with tennis elbow.” Hmm, that sounds like a lyric from a punk country song. 

So now the disclaimers: My case of tennis elbow is actually very mild, and self-diagnosed. Everything I will write in this post will not be based on any professional medical or scientific knowledge but will be based on Googling and hyperbole employed for entertainment purposes.

After a couple of weeks of having mild pain in my elbow that started for no discernable reason, I finally did some Googling yesterday to see if I could learn more about it. I wanted to explore possible causes so I could also explore possible solutions. 

My pain was, and is, primarily just annoying. It’s really only noticeable when I try to lift a full pot of coffee, pull out a whisky bottle stopper, squeeze a tube of makeup, and brush my hair–things I do at least daily, but not hourly. But I was, and am, a little worried that the pain might get worse and eventually be a problem when I am drumming or playing the piano or flailing my arms in a frenzied muppet dance. 

I was a bit hesitant to Google about anything health related because, as we know, I might convince myself that I have prostate cancer or something. But the interwebs do seem to suggest that I have “tennis” elbow, even though I don’t think I have ever played tennis at any point in my lifetime, and definitely not in the last month. For not only is playing tennis the quintessential activity that leads to my elbow pain condition, so is texting and other mobile phone-based activities such as swiping. (Interestingly, cutting meat is also a traditional cause, but again, not an activity I’m engaged in). 

So should I call my condition “Cell phone elbow” instead of “Tennis elbow”? Well, that’s actually a little murky. There is word on the web of “cell phone elbow” but that phrase is actually used for “cubital tunnel syndrome”–which is more like carpal tunnel syndrome (which I have also flirted with). “Tennis elbow” is properly named “lateral epicondylitis.” And both can also be caused and aggravated by regular old computer and laptop use. 

Huh. Well, trying to moderate my cell phone use might not cure me, but I don’t think it will hurt me and might even be beneficial in areas of my life that have little to do with elbows. 

I don’t think of myself as an excessive cell phone user–I’ve never even been on TikTok or Tinder–but…BUT. 

Once I take a moment to think about my cell phone use, I can see that while it might not be excessive by the standards of a 21st century young person, it could definitely be enough to cause “tennis” elbow in a 21st century middle aged lady. (Although another surprising fact: Tennis elbow is most common between people ages 30-50! So I am too old for tennis elbow…does that mean I’m “young” for my age?!!). I DO use my phone frequently to text/Facebook message, browse Facebook and Instagram, and do a lot of internet shopping. 

So it might be a good idea to scale back these activities, especially since many of them can also be done on a laptop, which for now, at least, I’m going to hope is less elbow-problematic. And in use-cases where I can’t use a laptop–primarily when I am watching TV and have a kitty on my lap–it’s probably good for me to just focus on watching TV. Even if it is not terribly stimulating superhero TV–I should probably focus, or just start watching more engaging TV. 

And that may be the real benefit of trying to reduce my cell phone elbowprint–cutting down on my “multitasking.” Yes, I know that I’m not productive when I’m multitasking–no one is–but that’s primarily how I use my phone–to do something while I’m supposed to do something else, or when I’m between doing something else (as in walking from one room in my house with a computer to another room in my house with a computer). 

More distressing and challenging than attempting to dial back on using my smart phone (which I’m just going to throw out here is an Android, not an iPhone–sorry to be a hater but I am totally an iPhone/Apple hater) is also trying to cut down on latch hooking. 

Yes, I find latch hooking a totally worthy endeavor from every perspective–spiritual, emotional, moral, intellectual, social–but it seems like the repetitive motion it requires is questionable for elbow health. No, I can’t find any interwebs information to support or even address this–I guess the market of latch hookers with tennis elbow is too small–but it seems worth pursuing.

So, in summary: For the longish short term, less smart phone usage (unless I’m taking selfies). For the short, short term, less latch hook.

 Texting/messaging, shopping, social media usage, and most importantly blogging (oh yes, and “working”)  will continue on a laptop or chromebook, all with the goal of preserving uninhibited drumming, hair brushing, and booze access. 

Oh yes, and more focus…wait, what was I writing? I think I need a drink.