Prevent "Blackberry Thumb" with our hand stretch, and pay attention to your body language as your digits tap out a typed message.

Painful message: Lots of texting can trigger back and neck pain.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Even as you use your phone to type some witty tweet, your shoulders are sending a message of their own. One that's spelled "O-U-C-H." First-of-its-kind data suggests that overworking your digits to send text messages could actually spark nagging pain in your neck and shoulder areas. The preliminary research, presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, found that the more college students sent text messages, the more pain they reported. "What we've seen so far is very similar to what we see with office workers who've spent most of their time at a computer," says Judith Gold, ScD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Temple University's College of Health Professions and Social Work. "The way the body is positioned for texting—stationary shoulders and back with rapidly moving fingers—is similar to the position for typing on a computer."

Studies on office workers glued to their computers found many suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, and tendonitis, but research connecting those problems to text-messaging is just getting started.

THE DETAILS: Ergonomics researchers decided to look at the relationship between pain and the use of devices like Blackberries, iPhones, and cellphones. Currently, there are no published studies examining an association between digital devices and musculoskeletal symptoms. To gather data, scientists recruited about 140 college students for the study, and asked them how many text messages they sent per day. Students also identified pain symptoms they experienced from the waist up by locating aching areas on a body map. Researchers found an association between shoulder and neck pain and the number of daily text messages sent, particularly in males.