Road Rules for Gadgets

You've probably seen them: drivers texting furiously on their BlackBerrys while stuck in traffic. Beachgoers hunched over laptops. Commuters juggling briefcases, cell phones and iPods. But as gadget lovers hit the road this summer, they may find that a problem from the office has followed them. The popularity of smaller, portable devices like laptops, smartphones and videogame players are resulting in new types of overuse injuries. "The problem we have with shrinking these devices is that we do not have a good way to interact with them the way we've become accustomed to using our mouse and keyboard," says Peter Budnick, president and CEO of Ergoweb, an ergonomics consulting firm.

While no one keeps stats on injuries resulting from small devices, their growing popularity has many experts concerned. Last year the American Physical Therapy Association warned that frequent users of BlackBerry-type devices are more likely to experience swelling, hand throbbing and tendinitis. And though many companies have hired consultants to adjust their employees' desktop setups, many workers don't necessarily heed proper ergonomics once they leave the office. "The more portable the device, the more people forget about healthy ways to use their bodies," says Kristin Amlie, senior ergonomist at the UCSF Ergonomics Program.

So, what's a busy road warrior to do? The problem with notebooks is that the keyboard and monitor are so close together that either the screen ends up being too low, which can force one to hunch over, potentially causing back, neck or shoulder pain, or the keyboard is too high, possibly resulting in hand, wrist and shoulder problems. Experts recommend outfitting laptops with an external keyboard and mouse, and placing them at or just below elbow height. In order to avoid straining your neck, use a separate monitor or prop your laptop on a stand to raise the display to just below eye level. Stands are available from companies like Griffin Technology ($40; griffintechnology.com) and Logitech ($30 to $100; logitech.com). Kensington ($20 to $60; kensington.com) sells miniature mice, and Targus ($15 to $50; targus.com) offers mice and a foldup keyboard.

Even without accessories, there are ways to improve your setup on the road. Amlie suggests making tweaks based on what kind of work you're doing. If you're primarily reading, place your laptop on something higher, like the airplane tray table. If you're mostly typing, lower it to elbow height or onto your lap. Just remember to take plenty of breaks by getting up and moving around. And, warns Amlie, if you're not using a separate keyboard and mouse, limit notebook work to two hours a day.

As for a smartphone, says Budnick, "it takes what we used to do with eight fingers and puts it into two thumbs." To reduce the risk of injury, take steps to cut back your texting time. You may want to include a message in your signature that says "sent by my mobile" so that people don't expect detailed e-mails—or alternate between different methods of inputting text, from switching fingers to using a stylus or the eraser end of a pencil. Or, instead of sending an e-mail, reply with a call.

With any device, portable or not, the key is to take breaks and vary positions. That's what Julio Bonis, a medical resident from Madrid, learned the hard way. Last month he submitted a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine diagnosing himself with "acute Wii-itis"—pain in his right shoulder after playing virtual tennis for 10 hours. (The treatment: rest, plus ibuprofen.) Bonis suggests that Wii owners limit the number of hours they play, as well as stretch and do exercises beforehand to warm up the muscles they'll be using. The game may be virtual, but the resulting pain can be very real.