A worldwide problem is spreading the globe like wildfire, perhaps even faster than wild fire! People are addicted to their mobile devices. In the 1920’s people thought by the year 2015 we would be traveling to the stars, cruising in our flying cars and transporting to countries in a flash. What a disappointment. The biggest advancement of our time was the Internet…and mobile devices. Everyone has a mobile phone and many people are addicted! We’re paying more attention to our mobile phones than our children and our significant others. We’ll walk out into a busy street before we look away from our phones. In fact, in some places they put a texting lane, much like a biking lane you see in streets of some cities.
Besides walking into traffic and ignoring our families what are the problems associated with constantly looking down at our phones? All of this poor posture, hunching and sitting to stare at our mobile devices has to have some sort of orthopedic repercussions, right?
Texting Back Pain
People were designed, and we evolved, to stand up straight. However, thanks to Apple and Samsung there are way too many of us that are spending hours a day hunched over to stare at our precious smart phones.
According to cbsnews.com:
“People spend an average of 2 to 4 hours each day with their neck bent at this unnatural angle while shooting off emails or texts. That’s 700 to 1,400 hours a year. The success of social media is has led to an epidemic of bad smartphone posture.”
According to this source your head weighs around 10-12 pounds when it’s upright in the normal position. However, the more you lean your head forward the heavier your head becomes due to gravity. In fact, when your head is bent at the 60-degree angle above you are literally exerting 60 pounds of pressure on your spine. That’s the same as about a 7 year old. It’s easy to say that Facebook isn’t worth putting 60 pounds worth of pressure on your spine.
However, the extreme bends around 45 degrees aren’t the only causes of neck pain and back pain. The smaller bends are pretty bad for you as well. In fact tilting your head 15 degrees puts around 30 pounds of pressure on your spine and only 30 degrees puts around 40 pounds of pressure!
Computer Hunch
Iphones and Androids aren’t the only sources of neck pain and back pain. Desktop computers are causing orthopedic problems for many people as well. The mobile device was a technological revolution. However, they’re pretty useless without the Internet. The Internet has changed our world. Now people can have jobs where they sit at a desk all day while they communicate with clients in other countries. However, like the mobile device there’s an orthopedic price to pay!
You don’t have to search hard far to learn how bad sitting is for you. In fact there’s a term out there called thecomputer hunch. If you experience a tight back, stressed hip and increasingly poorer posture you might be experiencing the computer hunch. The computer hunch may increase your chance of joint pain but sitting increases the risk of developing a ton of other conditions such as:
- DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis)
- Cancer
- Organ Damage
- Brain Damage
- Digestive Issues
- Muscle Degeneration
- Varicose Veins
- Weak Bones
- Increased chance of heart disease
Treatments
If you are reading this and you don’t already have joint problems caused by your sedentary job, sitting in front of a computer or hunching while texting then great! You have an opportunity to stop the bad habits now. What if it’s too late? Perhaps you have neck pain because you’ve been sitting all of your life? Perhaps texting has made your lower back pain worse. What are your options?
As technology advances more and more people will develop joint degeneration from staring at their mobile devices. If you’re looking for a non-invasive and non-surgical treatment then chiropractic care is a great opportunity.
If this non-surgical approach sounds like a good option don’t delay. After all you’re neck pain, and your back pain isn’t going to magically go away on its own. Call the Chiropractic Athletic Center in York, Pa Today(717) 767-4151.
References:
Jessice Firger (November 21, 2014) OMG, You’re texting your way to back pain. (Blog) Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/omg-youre-texting-your-way-to-back-pain/
