Doctor sees increase in 'selfie wrist'

Move over, writer’s cramp and tennis elbow. Selfie wrist is the latest medical condition affecting Americans.

Selfies are a staple of social media, but a Los Angeles doctor said flexing your wrist inward to take that perfectly angled photograph can cause numbness and tingling sensations, KABC reported.

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Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Levi Harrison said he has seen an increase in selfie wrist.

"It's a form of carpal tunnel," Harrison told the television station. "What happens is the nerve becomes inflamed and angry."

Harrison said too many selfies can cause the sore wrist.

"You're right in the moment," Harrison told KABC. "Let's take a picture right now and that's what happens."

Harrison suggested ways to hold a smartphone without causing too much stress on the wrist. He encourages patients to try exercises called “flappers” and the “queen’s wave.”

"That is the nature of our generation right now," Tina Choi, 29, who is one of Harrison's patients, told KABC. "We're taking so many selfies these days."

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