Now there’s yet another reason to stay off the phone (and discourage those telemarketing calls): Cell phone elbow.

According to sources like U.S. News and World Report, cell phone elbow is described as a nerve condition that affects “high tech talkers.” People who spend long periods of time holding a cell phone to their ears, their arms bent at more than a 90 degree angle, are choking the blood supply to the ulnar nerve, a nerve in the arm that runs from the collar bone to the pinky and ring fingers. Eventually, the fingers get tingly, painful or numb. Compressing this nerve for long periods can lead to hand and forearm issues, including cubital tunnel syndrome (similar to carpal tunnel syndrome), with the worst case being loss of hand strength (the J-Walk Blog mentions that sufferers have trouble opening jars and playing musical instruments, among other challenges).

How can we prevent cell phone elbow? For starters, use a headset instead of holding the phone. If you must use your hands, switch hands frequently to allow your arms to relax and get back to normal. If you ignore the pain and tingling for too long, it could eventually require surgery and physical therapy to decompress the nerve, so listen to your body; if your pinky is feeling the pinch, put down the cell phone. After all, as Lifehacker wonders, how can we make cell phones less of a pain on our bodies? For now, the handsets aren’t exactly conducive to our health, and the impact doesn’t stop with cell phones… When you think about it, ANY phone, including a land line, can have this effect on our arm nerves. The problem is in the design, not in the calling plan.

Of course, the best way to avoid the impact of talking on a phone is to avoid talking at all. That keeps conditions like cell phone elbow at bay and also prevents the loss of focus that talking hands-free can cause, especially while driving. It’s almost impossible to avoid talking on the phone throughout the day, so use good judgment when you talk, and try to save the phone time for important conversations.

If you’re trying to make the minutes that you DO talk on the phone count, you probably want to cut down on any telemarketing calls you get. That’s where Privacy Council can help! Sign up for our list removal service, and we’ll make sure you’re removed from all the major marketing lists and placed on the Do Not Call list. Reduce your junk mail and your unwanted phone calls with our service today!