Oh hey….so today I decided I would do cold compress on my hands to see if that made a difference and it did. In a not so lovely way. My hands cramped even more! Here is hoping heat applied on them tomorrow will sort this all out.

Still, I am not complaining, they are way better than on Sunday. As I have continued this journey of phone breaks and actually realizing how often I use my hands, it is pretty clear that I overwork and to the bone (no pun intended….okay pun totally intended).

This morning, I headed off to my cardio kickboxing class which I love so much but I also spend 45 minutes after, lifting. Lifting is not exactly "strain-less" when it comes to hand activity. Then throughout the day I was completing assignments for my online course that required me to be cutting, scrunching, drawing, dying. So while the phone maybe be just one small way I am overusing my hands, there are so many other ways.

So am I old? Is that basically what this little "test" will show me? That I am old and my hands are just going to be like this. It is even scarier to think that we will be the first generation that will be able to show how cell phone usage has affected us since most of us have had phones since we were 10. Sure my parents didn't have cell phones in their hands when they were 10 but its not like they were just sitting at home sitting on their thumbs (pun intended…again).

Researchers, it is time to start studying our youth and following them into adulthood because I need to know if hand pains will be more common at a young age because of their usage. Perhaps that can be my thesis paper when I become Dr. Mavis.

Take care of your hands and listen to your body. Hand therapy has been helping my realize I am not alone in this weird premature hand pain thing I've got going on. While others suggest just getting a bigger phone so it won't be as small in my hand, I suggest putting the phone down every once in awhile. Believe me, the Instagram app you just checked 5 minutes ago probably has one or two new photos; perhaps check it every 3 hours.

Well, you know what I am off to do….read a book!

Until next time! XOXO

Over the past few weeks, I have been realizing my hands have started to really hurt. More particularly, my thumbs. I thought it could be a number of things, I started boxing maybe the glove was fit wrong or I was counting change weirdly at work. Either way, I had to accept my hands were hurting and I was only at the ripe age of 22.

I started to really focus on my lifestyle. Pushups and planks were a daily occurrence seeing as I went to the gym twice a day, perhaps it was the mats. But then I took one step further and realized that maybe, BY CHANCE, it was the way I was holding my cellphone.

Devastated. Sounds a bit dramatic but as a self pronounced phone addict, I couldn't help but think the thing I use on the daily is causing a strain on my hands at such a young age.

Which is why I decided to try this "detox" or as I say, hand therapy. For the next three, I say three because those are my days off, I will only use my phone when necessary.

I set up some ground rules for myself in hopes of controlling my phone use.
1) Only use phone when necessary (i.e. letting mom know where you are, etc)
2) No updating something that can't be updated on desktop (so update twitter, no update snapchat)
3) This will only last three days
4) Use hands as normal (gym, computer, etc)

This isn't meant to be a phone detox even though that is what it sounds like, it is more of a "OMG my hands are hurting me and I have to live with them forever so take care of them" kind of thing.

I plan on updating this blog every night in hopes of seeing some improvement in how my hands feel and see how I feel about life.

If you have ever felt that your hands have been hurting but not sure why, perhaps this journey could help you.

Well it is midnight so that means the day begins with limited cellphone time. I'm off to go read a book or something…and ice my hands!

XOXO