It’s high time that for all the avid Selfie takers need to be get more conscious, as now capturing the perfect selfie can put you at the risk of developing “selfie elbow”. Just like tennis Elbow or golfer’s elbow, the addiction of selfie taking leads to pain in the primary pic-snapping elbow.

Selfie elbow is a medical condition which simply happens when we take too many selfies. Under this condition there is too much of stress and pressure on the muscle and it causes irritation in the area from where the muscle comes off the bone and the muscles starts inflammation leading to pain. The inflammation happens when we extend our arm and try to keep a firm grip on our phones at the same time. This is a modern movement for which our body is still not designed to do on regular basis.

The main difference between selfie elbow and tennis elbow is that tennis elbow is the result of rigorous workout while the other comes from a decidedly less sweaty pursuit. Selfie elbow comes on the heels of other technology related physical conditions including “gaming thumb”, “swiping finger”, “texting neck” and other issues which are caused by obsession with staying connected digitally.

This medical condition came into the lime light when a recent case of an award winning journalist and NBC’s Today Show host Hoda Kotb went to a doctor complaining about the pain in the elbow. Doctor confirmed that she is suffering from selfie elbow as she use to take about 20-30 selfies every day. Then her doctor recommended icing on the elbow and certain types of elbow exercises which will help her in reducing the soreness in her elbow.

The use of selfie stick will be best to get rid of selfie elbow as the selfie stick will work like an arm extender and it takes off the pressure from the elbow.

According to doctors it is believed that the interface between technology and the human body at times causes injuries simply because of over use of technology.

“The pain and condition related with selfie elbow are legit, as people are holding their elbows in a bent position for longer period of time just to get the best angle for their selfies. This position of the elbow results in strain on tendons, soreness in muscles and overuse injuries. The best way to deal with the pain is to exercise and do stretching regularly as it will help in the circulation. Or, the very least is getting a selfie stick.”, says Dr. Vishal Agrawal, Senior Consultant - Orthopaedics &Joint Replacements, Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute, Noida.