Spa Offers Relief for 'BlackBerry Thumb'

Dec. 22, 2005 — -- As spa director of the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kyra Johnson was very familiar with the ravages of "BlackBerry thumb."

"If you look around at any office or train station or airport," she said, "you see people hunched over PDA equipment and using their hands in ways that the hand wasn't really meant to be used."

The term "BlackBerry thumb" -- named after the ubiquitous hand-held e-mail and phone gadget - has become shorthand for the pain and discomfort that can accompany overuse.

In response to the problem, Johnson's spa developed a new treatment: the "BlackBerry Balm Hand Massage."

Though it might sound silly to some, many orthopedists and ergonomic experts will tell you BlackBerry thumb is very real and potentially very painful.

No one knows precisely how big of a problem the condition is -- there haven't been any studies.

But experts do know that gadgets like PDAs, video game controllers and smart phones like the BlackBerry can be the cause.

That may be why the BlackBerry Balm hand massage has been added to the spa menu at every Hyatt spa in North America.

"It is an intense hand and arm massage that uses a host of acupressure and massage techniques to alleviate some of the discomfort and tension associated with rigorous 'texting' and typing on PDA equipment," Johnson said.

A typical massage may feel good, but it typically focuses on the torso, neck and legs -- not the arms and hands.

"In a typical 60-minute massage, 90 percent of the time your hands and arms are done for maybe a couple of minutes," Johnson said. "You don't know how much tension is in your arms and your hands until you actually get them worked on."

The massage even includes a bottle of Hyatt's own "BlackBerry Balm," which text-happy typists can take on the road to soothe their aching digits.