Texting Too Much Can Cause Medical Condition 'Text Neck'

01/26/2018 08:09 pm EST

Texting can be dangerous, even when you are not driving. As we spend more time staring down at out smartphones, medical researchers have come up with a term for the negative impact of extended social media use — "text neck."

Last year, the authors of a study in The Spine Journal wrote about the increasing number of patients they have seen with neck and upper back pain. What alarmed them most was many of the patients complaining were young people who should not be experiencing back pain.

"In an X-ray, the neck typically curves backward, and what we're seeing is that the curve is being reversed as people look down at their phones for hours each day," study co-author Dr. Todd Lanman, a spinal neurosurgeon at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told Reuters.

"By the time patients get to me, they're already in bad pain and have disc issues," Lanman continued. "The real concern is that we don't know what this means down the road for kids today who use phones all day."

Lanman and orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Jason Cuellar wrote that the head puts more pressure on the spine as it leans forward. When the head is looking straight ahead, it feels like 10 to 12 pounds. When looking even at a 15 degree angle, it feels like 27 pounds. If you are looking down at a 60 degree angle, it could feel like 60 pounds on your spine.

The authors told Reuters that simple changes to the way you look at your smartphones, computers and other screens can relieve "text neck" stress. They suggest holding your phone in front of your face or near eye level. Texting with both hands and both thumbs can also lead to a more symmetrical position for your spine.

They also had suggestions for those who work in front of computers all day should have the monitors at eye level.

Posture can also have an impact on mood, behavior and memory, reports The New York Times. The National Center for Biotechnology Information studied 74 participants, and concluded that an upright seated posture "can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative mood, and increase positive mood compared to a slumped posture."

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