That daily deluge of Line messages, YouTube videos and TikTok shorts isn’t just damaging your calm. Constant clutching, tapping, typing and swiping could also be damaging your body.
Gamer’s thumb, text claw, trigger finger, smartphone pinky — call it what you want, but in Japanese, it’s “sumaho yubi.”
“'Sumaho yubi' is a term we hear more often these days, but it’s not an official medical diagnosis. It’s a common nickname for conditions like tendonitis or arthritis,” says Tatsunobu Ikeda, head doctor at Higashi-Shinjuku Orthopaedic & Rehab Clinic in Tokyo.
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