According to a recent report cited in the Washington Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that one in four adults in the United States suffers from arthritis. To put this into a better perspective, 54 million adults have this condition, and not all of them are elderly as you would typically imagine. And to break it down even further, about 8 million millennials have been diagnosed with arthritis.
So what’s the cause? It’s a combination of technology usage and excessive workouts like CrossFit that put too much use on their joints.
The Case for Technology
Think about how today’s technology is used. We all frequently type on a keyboard whether it’s in front of a computer screen or directly on your smartphone. As for millennials, they’ve grown up in a world full of technology easily accessible at their fingertips. From computers, cell phones, and controllers for video games, it’s become a habit for many millennials to be tapping away at something in their hands.
All of these technological advances require heavy usage of fingers and thumbs. And with 27 bones in each hand, developing finger and thumb arthritis is quite common! In fact, researchers believe that arthritis in wrists and fingers could be an increasing problem since many adults text frequently and have spent too much time playing video games as kids. The repetitive motion of texting and hitting buttons on a controller puts a lot of stress on joints, which can cause arthritic over time.
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This blog was originally posted on Micha Abeles’ other website. To read the rest of the blog, please click here.