Selfie Elbow is a New Medical Condition
Posted on July 5, 2016
Selfie elbow is becoming a real medical condition. It is something that many of today's social media users may end up with. It has to do with raising your arm and bending your elbow when you take a photograph of yourself with your phone. Performing this activity repeatedly can lead to an overuse injury.
Elle reports that Today's Hoda Kotb has been diagnosed with the modern condition. She is likely not the only celebrity suffering from selfie elbow.
Hoda told Elle, "I went to the orthopedist and he said, 'Are you playing tennis or ping-pong?' And of course I'm not, so I told him I was taking selfies. When you take the picture, your arm is up, bent in a weird way and you just click, click, click-think about how many you take: 20, 30, or 40. Selfie elbow, everyone has it!"
The Elle story cites Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, as saying selfie elbow is an overuse injury. Treatment includes ice, stretching and taking Advil or Motrin. Using a different arm for selfies can help release the burden on your over-used elbow. Another expert - Dr. Charles Kim, a musculoskeletal rehab specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center - suggests using a selfie stick or getting someone to take your picture for you.
Kim Kardashian is one of many celebrities who use selfies to promote themselves on Twitter. In a recent Super Bowl ad for T-Mobile, Kim talks about taking the perfect selfie. She says, "For me I know my perfect angle it's my chin down and I just pose away and take about 300 photos until I get the perfect selfie."
This will help you get the perfect selfie but taking that many selfies with your arm raised and elbow bent could also be just the type of behavior that leads to selfie elbow.