The risk, however, may not just be the lack of ground beneath the feet or the bear hovering behind. That fantastical pose of an arm outstretched and wrist bent balancing the camera can, in fact, bring much grief.
If you’re a frequent selfie taker and feeling some pain or stiffness in your picture snapping arm, chances are you might have ‘selfie elbow’, the new medical malady of our times to join the list of tech injuries like iPad hand, text claw and carpel-tunnel.
The phenomenon came to light about a month ago when a television journalist in the US developed a strange ache in her elbow. A visit to the doctors revealed that her love of taking too many selfies had turned out to be quite a pain in the arm and they called it the selfie elbow. Although India is yet to learn of too many ‘selfie elbows’ TOI spoke to a few medical experts in the city who now have a finger on that puzzling pain in the few casualties that have stumbled along, mostly young and with a penchant for going click-click.
25-year-old Manoj Desai, a model from Santacruz was crestfallen when his effort to capture a great workout at the gym was thwarted by the sheer agony of holding a phone to his face. “I felt my grip loosen and I couldn’t figure why. I hadn’t fallen down or hurt myself, yet the pain increased so much that I had to visit a doctor,” said Manoj before he fessed up to taking around 70 selfies a day. It helped his doctor find the cure -ice-packs, painkillers and six weeks of selfie-rest. “It’s hard to stay away from a hobby that makes you feel good about yourself,” arrues Manoj, his elbow currently in a brace.
To prevent this non-life-threatening ailment, doctors advise switching arms, pre-selfie stretches and use of selfie stick.
