San Diego surgeons treat man's 'Candy Crush thumb'

SAN DIEGO, April 15 (UPI) -- A team of San Diego doctors said a 29-year-old man was treated for "Candy Crush thumb" after he tore a tendon from playing the smartphone color-matching game.

The doctors, writing in medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, said the man was found to have ruptured a tendon in his thumb and he told doctors the injury had come after he played Candy Crush Saga on his phone "all day for 6 to 8 weeks."

The tendon was fixed in surgery, the study said.

The study authors said the man did not report any pain in his thumb until the tendon actually ruptured, indicating an addiction to the game may have caused the patient to feel less pain.

"The potential for video games to reduce pain perception raises clinical and social considerations about excessive use, abuse, and addiction," they wrote. "Future research should consider whether pain reduction is a reason some individuals play video games excessively, manifest addiction, or sustain injuries associated with video gaming."

"Candy Crush thumb" is the latest condition to result from smartphone technology that previously gave rise to the term "text neck."