It’s not only young people of working age who use smartphones for a long time each day. But nowadays children School-age teenagers are also using the Internet for more hours a day. clearly indicated by the information of “Electronic Transaction Development Agency (ETDA)” or #ETDA survey found that in 2022, Thai people Gen Y uses internet up to 8 hours 55 minutes per day, followed by Gen Z using internet up to 8 hours 24 minutes per day. which has a detrimental effect on the body and eyes unconsciously
Especially those who use the Internet via mobile phones who have a behavior of “bowing down”, looking at the smartphone screen for a long time. It will be more affected to the neck and back, such as neck pain, headache, back pain, which these symptoms have a modern medical definition called. “Text Neck” (Text Neck Syndrome) or neck and back pain caused by bending over to use a smartphone
There is data from research by Dr. Kennett Hansraj, a New York spinal surgeon. A paper published in the 25th edition of the medical journal “Surgical Technology International” states that Text Neck Syndrome can cause pain in your neck and back. The results of this research found that bowing his head to look at the phone in that hand It can put up to 60 pounds of pressure on your neck, or about 27.2 kilograms, with your head down very low. It will have a lot of pressure on it as well.
He compared the results of a study comparing mobile phone users with a “head-down” behavior, looking at the screen at different angles for every 15 degrees that you bend down and tilt your head forward. The pressure on your spine is doubled as follows:
- Bend your face 0 degrees (not facing down) there will be no pressure on it. The body only bears the weight of the head only 5 kg.
- Bend your face 15 degrees, there will be about 12.2 kg of pressure.
- Bend your face 30 degrees, there will be about 18.1 kg of pressure.
- Bend the face 45 degrees, there will be about 22.2 kg of pressure.
- If you bend your face 60 degrees, there will be about 27.2 kg of pressure.
All the extra pressure puts on your spine and can gradually move out of its original position. It also makes the tissue that has been stretched for a long time. Often inflamed until there is pain.
In addition, if there is a behavior looking down at the mobile phone screen like this accumulated for a long time It will have a long-term negative effect. make the muscles tight herniated disc Symptoms of nerve compression It may also cause your cervical vertebra to bend and deform.
not only that There is also information from Dr. Michelle Collie, director of physical therapy in Rhode Island. also stated that The behavior of using mobile phones until text neck symptoms is found in younger patients more and more.
In addition, bending your head and bending over to look at the mobile phone screen for a long time It also creates problems with the metabolic system in the body. decreased lung function with information confirming that the stooping and bending It can reduce lung capacity by up to 30%.
When the body receives less oxygen It can lead to hypoxia and increase the risk of vascular disease. It also affects digestive problems. This causes poor digestion due to pressure on the internal organs of the body.
read here You’ve probably seen that bending the screen of your mobile phone for a long time affecting health in many dimensions Even so, people in this era would not be able to stop stooping to play with mobile phones decisively. Because you still have to use your smartphone in everyday life, so it’s important to adjust your behavior while using your smartphone. And it is probably the only solution to this problem that is enough to help the health of the body not deteriorate. Dr. Michelle Collie has advice on behavior modification as follows
1. Always be aware of your body : If you accidentally bend your head and your back is bent at any time, make sure to straighten your back.
2. Adjust the head and neck to match the spine : With your feet flat on the floor, lift your chest and move your shoulders back. Then adjust your ears to meet your shoulders. To keep your head from leaning forward too much.
3. Use a mobile stand instead of using your hands to hold : Look for a mobile phone support or wrist protection from the weight of the smartphone. Instead of using your hands because if you use your hand to hold a smartphone for a long time This will cause the muscles of the arms, shoulders, shoulders and neck to become tense, causing neck pain and headaches.
4. Buy headphones : Use headphones to connect to your smartphone for long talks or meetings. Instead of holding and raising your smartphone to your ear To help reduce the contraction of the muscles of the arms, shoulders, and shoulders
Most importantly, take a break from the screen every 20 minutes while using your smartphone or tablet or even a portable computer. then stand up Rotate the shoulders and neck. or walk for a short distance for better blood flow
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refer : CNN, clevelandclinic.org, text-neck