More than three out of four university students in one recent study reported pain in their hands, and researchers linked the ache directly to heavy smartphone use.
Quick Take
- A 2025 study of 227 college students found 76.65% reported hand pain, linked to smartphone-addiction scores.
- Separate research tied heavier phone use to wrist pain and signs of de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, a thumb tendon condition.
- A larger study of 692 people found 63.3% had wrist pain, with phone-use duration a key factor.
- A systematic review found heavy texting raised tendon-injury risk, but found no link to carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Experts say the studies show a strong pattern, not final proof that phones alone cause tendonitis.
Students Report Widespread Hand Pain Tied To Phone Habits
A study published in 2025 surveyed 227 students at Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University in Turkey. Researchers found 76.65% reported pain in one or both hands. Students who scored higher on a smartphone-addiction scale were far more likely to report that pain, a link researchers called statistically strong.
The same pattern shows up in other research. A 2024 study of university students found that the longer people used their phones, the more discomfort they reported in their thumbs and wrists. The right hand’s thumb and wrist areas showed the clearest connection to heavy phone use.
Thumb Tendon Condition Shows Up In Screening Tests
A separate 2025 study looked specifically for de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, a painful swelling of tendons near the base of the thumb. Researchers used a hands-on screening test called the Finkelstein maneuver along with self-reported symptoms. People who unlocked their phones more often and spent more daily screen time showed stronger signs of the condition.
A larger study tracking 692 students and workers found even bigger numbers. Wrist pain showed up in 438 people, or 63.3% of the group. Researchers found that how long someone used their phone each day was a significant factor tied to that pain.
Review Finds Texting Link, But Not To Every Hand Condition
A systematic review pulling together multiple studies found that people who sent 55 or more texts a day faced a higher risk of pain and tendon disease. But the same review found no clear link between total hours spent on handheld devices and carpal tunnel syndrome, a different nerve condition in the wrist.
That split result matters. It shows researchers are not finding that phones cause every type of hand or wrist problem equally. Instead, the evidence points to specific repetitive movements, like frequent texting or unlocking a screen, as the stronger trigger for tendon pain and swelling.
Why Full Proof Still Takes More Research
Nearly all of these studies measured phone use and pain at the same time, rather than tracking people over months or years. That design can show a strong pattern but cannot prove the phone use came before the injury. Researchers have called for longer studies that follow people from before symptoms start.
Many of the study groups were also narrow, focused mostly on college students and young adults. That makes it harder to know whether older workers, manual laborers, or people with different phone habits would show the same results. Researchers have also not fully ruled out other causes, like gaming, typing, or old injuries, that could add to the pain.
Researchers studying touchscreen devices as far back as 2017 found only limited evidence linking device use to musculoskeletal symptoms, largely because early studies were small lab experiments rather than large, long-term tracking projects. The newer 2025 studies add much larger numbers and more specific test results, but the overall research field still leans on short-term surveys rather than years-long tracking of injuries as they develop.
For now, the strongest evidence connects heavy phone use, especially frequent texting and screen unlocking, to real pain and early warning signs of tendon problems in the hand and wrist. Doctors have not yet confirmed that phones alone cause full-blown tendonitis in most users, but the pattern across several independent studies gives people a clear reason to pay attention to how they hold and use their devices every day.
Sources:
youtube.com, link.springer.com, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
