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Too Much of Twittering is Bad For Your Health

by VR Sreeraman on Apr 19 2009 10:13 AM

Twitter enthusiasts who spend hours on the trendy social networking could be struck with painful muscle problems, warn experts.

Physiotherapists and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) sufferers have advised Twitter users to moderate their time on the site - or risk it ruining their health.

Twitter's nature implies users are encouraged to update their activities more frequently than other sites, like Facebook or MySpace.

And it is believed that the fact Twitter can be fed to from various platforms, like mobile phones, means users could find themselves spending more time on than they might expect.

Kevin Fleisch, chairman of the London Repetitive Strain Injury Support Group, said anything that encouraged high use of keyboards should be carefully policed.

"I want Twitter to put something on the website warning against overuse and how to use responsibly, people need to be made aware of this," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

"It is highly likely anything that involves you constantly typing will increase your chances of getting RSI. Anybody that is repetitively moving their fingers is more likely to get it.

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"Anything that encourages you to do lots of things on keyboards, unless it's well controlled, is going to be dangerous," he added.

The theory behind RSI is that if an individual overuses a tool it can cause tissue damage leading to pain. Symptoms of RSI can take years to emerge, often starting with just a slight ache. But the problem can become so severe that sufferers are wracked with pain with just the smallest movement.

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A spokesman for Twitter declined to comment.

Source-ANI
SRM


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