You wake up, look down and check your watch-it's 8 a.m. You stare at your watch for a few seconds and then you look up. Three minutes later you look down and check you watch again-it's 8:04 and you stare with your neck flexed down for another few seconds. Now imagine doing this look-down-and stare routine every four minutes until midnight. But, you're not looking at your watch, you're also checking your smartphone.
According to a Tecmark study, the average person looks at a smartphone 221 times a day for a total of about 3 hours and 15 minutes-about once every four minutes for 16 hours straight. A CHIROPRACTOR should find this to be worrying because in one year the average person will spend almost 1,200 hours-50 days- staring down at a screen.
Repetitive Strain Injury
Professionally speaking, you'd have to argue that without a doubt the magnitude of this number of repetitions could become responsible for decades of chronic neck pain. A study from 2012 tells us that when people use their mobile devices, their posture is often poor. The long term side effects of text messaging and smartphone use can cause a person's body posture to change over time....The body has an incredible ability to adapt and unfortunately, when people are hunched over their cell phone all day, the body adapts to that posture.
Not All Thumbs
The general public is under the impression that smartphone overuse can cause conditions like "Blackberry thumb" of "iPad finger," but texting is actually a full- body activity. Muscles like the sternocleidomastiod, deep neck flexors, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, masseter and erector spinae all contract during the traditional texting stance: head down and arm adducted with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. The continual repeated use of these tissues can trigger the release of neurogenic inflammation which can lead to motor muscle inhibition.
Negative Outcomes
Neurogenic inflammation in the musculoskeletal system is generated nerve impulses and the release of inflammatory substances from the sensory axon at the site of the original injury.
Prolonged inflammation and pain can lead to protective muscle spasm, accumulation of fibrous tissue, and muscle shortening. Accretion of fibrous tissue can form a palpable taut muscle bands and trigger points, creating muscle dysfunction and spasms that lead to the compression of blood vessels-creating nociception.
Nociception is a nerve's reaction to the chemical that irritate it. Neurogenic inflammation, which can be caused by injury or repetitive strain, is the chemical mixture that irritates the nerve that controls a specific muscle. This causes muscle to become inhibited and forces adaptation of the musculoskeletal system-which contributes to long-term degradation of mechanics.
The Eyes Have It
Smartphone use taxes not only the musculoskeletal system but the ocular system as well. You want to be able to explain this to your patients so you can better diagnose and treat their condition.
Researchers from the Journal of Optometry and Vision Science found the average working distance for text messaging to be about 14 inches, whereas the average working distance for viewing a webpage was about 12 inches.
But those were both closer than the typical working distance of approximately 16 inches when reading printed text, as with a newspaper or magazine. Holding a smartphone at such a short distance can place increased exposure to harmful blue-violet light.
Many digital devises use LED's that can emit about 35 percent blue-violet light. This can increase the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Regular "eye breaks," which will complement good neck posture because eye strain is usually compensated by changing neck position. A one- minure break every ten minutes of screen time is a good recommendation.
Ounce of Prevention
To take pressure off of the neck and shoulder muscles, patients need to find smartphones they can hold and type on using only one hand. Some of the larger phones, known as "phablets," generally require two hands to use and are less ergonomic.
Repeatedly flexing the neck downward to operate a smartphone will likely cause damage over time. To combat this, patients can try using voice dictation and auto-text options that will allow them to speak their message or help it type itself. Also, when they have text, they should try sitting comfortably at a desk or table with their hand resting on the surface about 18 inches away from the body. This will put the neck at a more gradual angle, placing less strain on the muscles.
According to a Tecmark study, the average person looks at a smartphone 221 times a day for a total of about 3 hours and 15 minutes-about once every four minutes for 16 hours straight. A CHIROPRACTOR should find this to be worrying because in one year the average person will spend almost 1,200 hours-50 days- staring down at a screen.
Repetitive Strain Injury
Professionally speaking, you'd have to argue that without a doubt the magnitude of this number of repetitions could become responsible for decades of chronic neck pain. A study from 2012 tells us that when people use their mobile devices, their posture is often poor. The long term side effects of text messaging and smartphone use can cause a person's body posture to change over time....The body has an incredible ability to adapt and unfortunately, when people are hunched over their cell phone all day, the body adapts to that posture.
Not All Thumbs
The general public is under the impression that smartphone overuse can cause conditions like "Blackberry thumb" of "iPad finger," but texting is actually a full- body activity. Muscles like the sternocleidomastiod, deep neck flexors, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, masseter and erector spinae all contract during the traditional texting stance: head down and arm adducted with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. The continual repeated use of these tissues can trigger the release of neurogenic inflammation which can lead to motor muscle inhibition.
Negative Outcomes
Neurogenic inflammation in the musculoskeletal system is generated nerve impulses and the release of inflammatory substances from the sensory axon at the site of the original injury.
Prolonged inflammation and pain can lead to protective muscle spasm, accumulation of fibrous tissue, and muscle shortening. Accretion of fibrous tissue can form a palpable taut muscle bands and trigger points, creating muscle dysfunction and spasms that lead to the compression of blood vessels-creating nociception.
Nociception is a nerve's reaction to the chemical that irritate it. Neurogenic inflammation, which can be caused by injury or repetitive strain, is the chemical mixture that irritates the nerve that controls a specific muscle. This causes muscle to become inhibited and forces adaptation of the musculoskeletal system-which contributes to long-term degradation of mechanics.
The Eyes Have It
Smartphone use taxes not only the musculoskeletal system but the ocular system as well. You want to be able to explain this to your patients so you can better diagnose and treat their condition.
Researchers from the Journal of Optometry and Vision Science found the average working distance for text messaging to be about 14 inches, whereas the average working distance for viewing a webpage was about 12 inches.
But those were both closer than the typical working distance of approximately 16 inches when reading printed text, as with a newspaper or magazine. Holding a smartphone at such a short distance can place increased exposure to harmful blue-violet light.
Many digital devises use LED's that can emit about 35 percent blue-violet light. This can increase the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Regular "eye breaks," which will complement good neck posture because eye strain is usually compensated by changing neck position. A one- minure break every ten minutes of screen time is a good recommendation.
Ounce of Prevention
To take pressure off of the neck and shoulder muscles, patients need to find smartphones they can hold and type on using only one hand. Some of the larger phones, known as "phablets," generally require two hands to use and are less ergonomic.
Repeatedly flexing the neck downward to operate a smartphone will likely cause damage over time. To combat this, patients can try using voice dictation and auto-text options that will allow them to speak their message or help it type itself. Also, when they have text, they should try sitting comfortably at a desk or table with their hand resting on the surface about 18 inches away from the body. This will put the neck at a more gradual angle, placing less strain on the muscles.