Text neck syndrome becoming a common issue among youngsters
Text neck syndrome is a term used to describe a neck injury brought on by prolonged forward head posture.
Representative image (File)
CHENNAI: Texting is cool, but it is becoming a painful tool. Doctors say that children and teenagers are more likely to report experiencing text neck pain than ever before due to text neck syndrome.
The prolonged use of computers and mobile phones, without a proper posture is affecting the spine and major joints in children. Covid restrictions, online learning, and working from home have added to the problem.
Text neck syndrome is a term used to describe a neck injury brought on by prolonged forward head posture.
The signs include shoulder and neck discomfort that is severe or persistent, and neck and shoulder stiffness or tightness, which limits the range of motion.
Other issues can be recurrent or intermittent headaches, pain in the eyes, and nerve pain accompanied by tingling and numbness in the upper limbs.
Dr Nandkumar Sundaram, head of orthopedics at Fortis Malar Hospital says that the short-term impacts are not as obvious, children and teenagers either do not consider or are unaware of long-term bodily harm. "The effects of forward neck flexion do not significantly impact the quality of life until adulthood. Younger people, who use smartphones and tablets the most, must be made aware of this fact. This increases the worry that young people would live in pain and impairment or, worse yet, have years taken off of their life expectancy," he said.
While spine-related issues due to long working hours used to be a common health concern of working youngsters, doctors say that it is becoming common in school-going children as well.
"We can't blame them or their parents because everything today, including education, depends on smartphones. But we need to ensure that there is regular intervention and exercise for time to get a break and avoid damage. The phone should be not too low than eye level and it's important to take a break. It is ideal to place the hands on a table while reading, playing, or texting. A shock like pain, numbness or stiffness should be checked with a doctor immediately as they can progress into some form of spine deformities later," said senior consultant orthopaedic, Dr S Saravanan.
