Gaming and Texting: Sources of Joint Pain for Kids

ids and teens who spend a lot of time playing video games or texting on their smartphones may end up with serious wrist and finger pain, a new study suggests.

The preliminary findings, which were presented at a medical conference, raise the possibility that overuse of gaming devices and mobile phones could impact children's joint health, the researchers said.

Researchers studied the effect of gadgets such as the Xbox, Gameboy and iPhone on 257 students aged 9 to 15 at two schools in St. Louis. The students received questionnaires asking about the types of gadgets they used, how long they used them and how much pain they experienced.