Not that long ago, I was at the Boot and I got a sharp pain on the palm of my right hand, close to my wrist, in the thumb area. I thought for sure I had fallen—or knocked someone out—but I just could not recall when either of these events could have occurred. I put some ice on it and finally, after consulting the Internet, I decided that I had the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome.

This is possible, I thought, after all I am an English and  mass communication major, so writing and typing are an integral part of my chosen career plan. Finally, I told my parents, who ruthlessly instructed me to go immediately to a doctor. I didn’t. I hate doctors.
So I waited until Fall Break, when my hand was exponentially worse. After some research, I found that a physiotherapist would be the best person to see.

I walked into the crowded office and I immediately felt like a fraud. At the time, my hand really was not hurting much, since the pain comes and goes. The therapist called my name and he instructed me to prop my hand up on a stretcher and he began to examine it.

He asked me a series of questions: Do you play sports? Not since high school, I answered. Do you play video games? No. Are you on the computer for extended periods of time?

Yes, I said as I explained further what I study, illustrating how much I use computers. Is there any time when you especially feel pain?

Yes, I responded, when I play guitar, use the track pad on my laptop or when I text message. Ah, he said, that’s it. The tendon in your hand is inflamed because of your text messaging.

I felt completely ridiculous.

All around me in the office were older people with back and knee problems and several athletes with sport injuries. They were all stretched out on beds, wearing gym clothes, doing various exercises with weights and machines, and there I was, with the therapist twisting and turning my hand.

Are you sure it is not carpal tunnel? I asked. He assured me that it was not, for the pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome is in an entirely different area of the hand. I really don’t text that much, I told him, trying to defend myself in this embarrassing predicament. But he cut me off and told me not to worry, that I was not the only one.

The following days, my hand was completely bandaged, except for the hour-long physical therapy sessions that included doing many exercises using stress balls and other devices that one can squeeze and pull.

Twisting jars and flexing my thumb were other strenuous exercises I was instructed to do. I almost felt compelled to buy a wristband to prepare my hand for its exercise routine. Luckily for me, my hand did get better and now, I’ve cut back on text messaging.

Here, I could go into tangents on the detriments text messaging has on today’s society, but instead let me just be proof of the physical problems excessive text messaging can cause.

Melanie Aleman can be reached at [email protected]