I remember reading some of the citations about "Blackberry Thumb," http://www.wordspy.com/words/BlackBerrythumb.asp years/months ago and thinking, “How ridiculous.  You mean to tell me they actually have a definition of this condition?”  Yep!  It’s "A repetitive stress injury characterized by swelling and pain at the base of the thumb and caused by prolonged use of the thumb while operating a BlackBerry or other personal digital assistant." 

Well, now I’m not laughing so loud.  I went to the hand surgeon today with a severe, stabbing pain at the base of my thumb and wrist.  I left after a diagnosis for tendonitis, a cortisone shot in the joint, a wrist brace to sleep in for one month, and a strict admonishment to not hold my phone and type with the same hand.  How rude!  How am I possibly supposed to drive and type at the same time?

It’s truly amazing how easy it is to ignore our own physical symptoms of overuse or overwork and let the pain become “normal” or dull.  Take it from me — use your pain as a signal to guide you that something’s wrong and listen to your body — before it becomes a repetitive motion injury!

I found a nifty little portable keyboard on the Internet I bought that pops open and plugs into the Treo, allowing me to type my messages as usual rather than typing with my thumbs.  In the last few hours, I’ve also become fairly adept at using a pencil eraser and poking the buttons with my pointer fingers.  Desperate times call for desperate measures!