As exam season is approaching, experts warn students and teachers of a condition which is affecting the performance and mental health of children.
Writing methods
They say that simple writer’s cramp is increasingly being reported at this season when students are made to write for long hours, especially choosing wrong writing methods.
According to doctors, the condition is exposed when a person is made to write for long hours especially during exams.
Writer’s cramp results pain in the fingers at the initial stage and slowly aggravates till shoulders.
Symptoms
“Main symptoms include pain in fingers when one is made to write for a long period. Slowly, the person become unable to hold the pen and loses gripping. This is mainly caused by losing coordination of muscles that are used to hold the pen,” says G. Balasubramanian, chief orthopaedic surgeon of Bragathy Hospital.
Major health concern
According to him, an aggravated form of the condition called focal dystonia is also becoming a major health concern.
According to S. Karthik of Global Ortho Hospital, simple writer’s cramp is affecting 10 % of the student population while focal dystonia is a problem for 2 % of the population.
Often ignored
Dr. Kathik says that the problem is often ignored by parents and teachers even though the students complain the difficulty they face in writing for long hours.
“On an average, we get at least five cases of simple writer’s cramp. The number increases between January and March when students have model examinations and annual examinations. The main reason is lack of writing practices given to children though they are overloaded with writing assignments. Due to muscle fatigue, children may not be able to finish exam within the given time, affecting them in psychological level,” says Dr. Karthik.
As the examinations season completes, teachers also complain of pain in hand after correcting answer sheets of students, a tedious task.
According to Dr. Karthik, simple exercises can be done at class rooms for about five minutes every day, especially before the examinations commence.
The exercises can be done with a soft ball which barely costs Rs. 20.
