Common iPad & Tablet Injuries:
Most of us use a tablet or iPad at least once a day — but are you using an iPad stand or tablet stand with them? If not, you could be putting yourself at risk just to get your latest fix of viral cat videos and email updates.
It’s not a problem most people will think about, but when you start to explain it to them it makes a lot more sense. Ever felt those aching arms after holding your iPad in bed for too long? That’s because you’re putting too much pressure on them. You’re damaging yourself!
We felt this was something worth investigating further, so we teamed up with the product designers & researchers over at iBeani (they make funky iPad stands that work to actively reduce iPad & tablet related injuries) to see just how big the problem really is.
Common iPad & Tablet Injuries:
“iPad Shoulder”:
iPad shoulder is a condition that results in a consistent and aching neck/shoulder pain. It’s caused by bending the neck down for a long period of time whilst looking at iPad/tablet screens.
Holding your neck at this sort of angle puts tremendous pressure on both your muscles and bones. To help combat it, simply hold the iPad/tablet at an angle.
Tendonitis:
Anyone who hits the gym hard has probably heard about the dangers of tendonitis before — but you can also get it just from using your iPad/tablet. Excessive use of the fingers and thumbs on touchscreen devices leads to inflammation of the tendons which is incredibly painful. To solve this, just use a stylus!
Computer Vision Syndrome:
As my mother used to say, “Staring at those screens all day will give you square eyes!”. While I’ve never seen the shape of my eyes change, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Prolonged use of tablets & iPads will cause eye strain and damage unless you take regular breaks. This can lead to blurred vision, redness in the eyes or even vertigo.
These vision issues are more likely on tablets/iPads (and phones) than with TVs/PCs, as you are holding the screen much closer to your face. It’s simple enough to solve though — just put down your device and take a break.
Insomnia:
It’s been scientifically proven that blue light emitted from screens tricks our body in to thinking it’s day time. That means when using screens at bed in night, instead of getting ready to sleep our body is thinking it’s time to wake up!
This can lead to chronic lack of sleep and even insomnia. It’s not all bad news though — just install an app like F.lux or Twilight which will block out blue light on your device. Now you can use it all you want before bed.
Nerve Damage:
Nerve damage and RSI are the most common types of iPad/tablet related injuries. Overuse of the device results in too much strain being placed on the thumb and fingers, which leads to damage of the nerves within them.
Nerve damage is incredibly painful and often irreversible, so it’s very important to ensure that you take regular breaks when your fingers start to ache. Or just get a tablet stand to hold your device securely & safely.
Reading this might sound scary, like using your iPad/tablet is resigning you to a life of misery and pain. But with simple exercises, breaks and use of a proper stand most of these issues are mitigated. Make sure you stay active, move around lots and take regular breaks — then you can watch all the viral cat videos you want!