A Chicago schoolgirl is facing surgery on both wrists after sending more than 100 text messages a day from her mobile phone, the Herald Sun in Melbourne reported Monday.
Annie Levitz, 16, who has lost the feeling in her hands and is unable to pick up some objects, has to wear braces on both wrists and also needs pain-killing injections.
Doctors say she is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, whereby nerves in the wrist become trapped. The condition is usually associated with frequent computer keyboard use.
Annie insisted she has cut down on her texting habit - but only to 50 a day.
"I know it's not good enough, but I am trying," she said.
"It's not even good texts. It's things like, 'Hey, hey, what's up?'"
She now hopes to trade her mobile in for an iPhone - as its touchscreen should make it easier to type out texts.
Annie said that she got scared after she began to develop pain.
"I started losing feeling in my hands and they'd go numb," she explained. "I'd go to pick up dishes and things and they'd just fall out of my hands."
Doctors then diagnosed Annie, a pupil in Lincolnshire, Illinois, north of Chicago, and fitted braces on her wrists.
She has also had cortisone injections to deal with the pain. But Annie will still have to go under the knife in a bid to relieve her discomfort.
Dr Sofia Aksentijevich, who specializes in arthritis and related diseases, said the condition is relatively common among the general population, but unusual among people less than 20 years old.
She said Annie is the youngest person she has diagnosed.
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