Gotta case o' the old iPod thumb, do ya?

We've already got some pretty raging cases of Tetris eye, tennis elbow, Space Invaders index finger, and runner's knee 'round the office, but iPod thumb? Not to be confused with BlackBerry thumb or PlayStation thumb, your little white friend could very well be the cause of discrete repetitive stress injury according to Carl Irwin of the British Chiropractic Association. He set the record straight for the Scotsman on Apple MP3 player inflicted pains: "The action needed to move the wheel on an iPod is totally unnatural and effectively separates the joint in the thumb every time you use it." His patients apparently have had iPod-related RIS issues not only in their thumbs and fingers, but as far up as their elbows and necks. Well, it makes sense really; we have been saying for years that the circular motion of the scroll wheel is at best mildly uncomfortable. Ok, so who's spearheading the next round of Apple lawsuits. Any takers?

[Via TUAW]

[Motorola 3G Victim @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I call BS on the motion being "unnatural" for human males. At least this human male uses that motion on human females during sex... That's been one of the reasons I've always liked the iPod, they're just so sexy. :-)

[Rus @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Creative's CEO is just loving all the bad (but stupid bad) press the iPod is getting.

[ryan_fung @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Just who would use the wheel frequent and long enough to cause RSI?

[pachi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

hah! i knew why i have bought a zen micro ;-)

[dj @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

makes me sooo happy. finally, i have a solid reason for my next dap upgrade not to be an iPod. (current owner of 4G) ofcourse I never experienced this effect, but now it'll give a good phychological reason to get an iriver or an iaudio instead of ipod video, cos all other reasons, to me, seem to cancel out somehow. yepee!

[God @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

God people suck. This country is full of losers.

[dreampc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

To quote Ryan...

"Just who would use the wheel frequent and long enough to cause RSI?"

... hmmm... maybe somebody playing a ported copy of Doom?

[Popstand @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Key phrase...

"...of the British Chiropractic Association"

Chiropracty=Pseudo-Science

[huh? @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

is that even a human hand? look at it.

[iBill @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Getting RIS from twiddling your thumb around a click wheel?
God, can these losers come up with any other reasons why the ipod is so F*#$king evil? If you don't like it, go sell it on eBay and get yourself some other peice of shit mp3 player.

[Joe Zobkiw @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

All I can say is if this is un-natural then we better friggin' adapt because devices that force us to use our fingers and thumb ain't gonna stop - blame the damn rotary dial phone - I think it probably started it all! Glad I was able to get rid of that! idiots!

[MikeMC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

You know, you can potentially hurt your thumb with a hammer as well. Never buy one of those! I hear they can get scratched from casual use as well. Hammer manufacturers should be sued because their product is not perfect for everyone. ;-)

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

All I can say is if this is un-natural then we better friggin' adapt because devices that force us to use our fingers and thumb ain't gonna stop - blame the damn rotary dial phone - I think it probably started it all! Glad I was able to get rid of that! idiots!

--

Adapt to what? Using the scroll wheel once an hour?

Playlists people. If I see one of you dorks on the subway clicking through each individual song scroolling through mile-long menus on your iPod, I'll deck you.

[gopi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Chiropracty officially claims a lot very odd things - virtually all diseases can be cured by spinal manipulation. Even if you accept that chiropractors are generally correct, their speciality is the spine, not the hand, so they do seem a bit odd as a source for a claim like this...

Here's a reasonable outline of the profession:
http://skepdic.com/chiro.html

[morgan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

It's hard to believe this guy couldn't even test his theory out, with his own thumb being stuck so far up his *ss.

[Jay @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Yeah, and it causes my ass to twitch too. Quick everybody, stop using EVERYTHING, and go into hibernation!

Get real!

[aparrish @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

My iPod often plays songs I don't like, sometimes up to three or four in a row (necessitating frequent clicks on the "next" button). Does anyone have the number of a good lawyer? Thanks.

[Hunter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I wonder how Dr. Irwin feels about the PSP's analog stick.

[Teve Torbes @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

"...your little white friend..."

Little white friend?!?! What about my brown, black , yellow and red friends???

[jayarr_the_motherfcuking_superstar @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

he's talking about the ipod not your hand, idiot

[umbrage @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Playlists people. If I see one of you dorks on the subway clicking through each individual song scroolling through mile-long menus on your iPod, I'll deck you.

--

So now, instead of just theft or other crimes on the subway, I get to worry about getting punched, because I didn't spend hours at home creating playlists that predict the order of songs I want to listen to on my 15 minute commute to work.

Awesome.

[carl @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

jayarr, he's talking about crayons, not his hand. idiot! gosh!

[Ramrod @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The reason that the british chiro association feels qualified to comment on something like this is that chiros are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of neuromusculoskeletal disorders. As such, a sore thumb joint falls into their scope of practice...

[Nanoman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

if that guys fat thumb could reach the other side of the click wheel he wouldnt have a problem

[David Thomas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Or as I like to call it, Carpal Thumbel Syndrome.

[rye&ginger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

"Posted Nov 14, 2005, 8:41 AM ET by Popstand

Key phrase...

"...of the British Chiropractic Association"

Chiropracty=Pseudo-Science"

Medicine isnt a pure science either.


the ipod does require un-natural movment for the thumb. I am a kinesiologist and we have had 2 teens in for other injuries but also had ipod thumb.

in conclusion, suck it. jk. but this is for real. BB thumbs are a well known issue, no?

[Kroc Camen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#8. Doom doesn't use the wheel. How would you turn *and* move? Try playing it.

[Revrant @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Lovely, yes, everyone Kiss Apples ass, bash anything that claims the iPod is not, as predicted, the second son of God or something.

Guh, talk about losers, whenever Engadget stops kissing Apples ass(Ha. Not very often.) everyone just goes on a little ranting spree, just go ahead and say "z0mg u stoopid u nawt sposed two stp kizzing theyre @ss!" and be done with it, get right to the meat of it and stop dancing around it.

Anyhow, I don't know if this is valid, generally everything can cause extreme RSI if used for long enough periods(Old IBM keyboards anyone?), so if you have one of these Apple suckups using the iPod wherever they go, all of the time, then yes, it's going to happen, as it would with almost anything. I prefer Buttons myself, never fancied the click wheel.

[wht.rbt @ Jan 1st 2006 5:52AM]

Evolution will take care of these problems, right?