A doctor in Granada is advising fellow physicians to be "mindful" of the injuries that can result from using instant messaging services, after she diagnosed a 34-year-old pregnant woman with "WhatsAppitis".

The case, described by the doctor in the Lancet, said the patient was suffering sudden pain in both wrists after waking up in the morning. Inés Fernandez-Guerrero, of Granada's General University hospital, wrote that the patient "had no history of trauma and had not engaged in any excessive physical activity in previous days". She ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve damage.

The patient had been working on Christmas Eve. The next day, she responded to the many WhatsApp social messages that had been sent to her. Her phone was in her hands for at least six hours, during which she "made continuous movements with both thumbs to send messages", said the doctor.

The diagnosis for the sore wrists was "WhatsAppitis," the doctor concluded. The treatment was "complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages," along with anti-inflammatory drugs. The doctor drew a comparison between WhatsAppitis and a repetitive strain injury diagnosed in heavy Nintendo users in the 1990s: Nintendinitis, or Nintendo thumb. Once thought to be limited to children, many adults have since reported injuries associated with video games and new technologies, she said. Pain, swelling and difficulty moving particular joints caused by texting with mobile phones "could well be an emerging disease", she wrote. "Physicians need to be mindful of these new disorders."