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Spending way too much time on your smartphone? Get ready for a spine surgery, warn researchers

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By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Nov 21, 2014, 3:35 AM

Spending way too much time on your smartphone? Get ready for a spine surgery, warn researchers

Looking at our smartphones all day every day we are gradually putting unusual pressure on our spines, a new research paper now suggests, to the equivalent of carrying a seven-year old on our shoulders each time we stoop down to answer a text.

The researchers measured the weight resting on our cervical spine at different angles, and at 60 degrees, or the typical inclination you text with, if you are too lazy to lift the phone up a bit, the pressure was equal to 60 pounds more than if your neck was in an upright position. Here's what they found out, too:

People spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smart phones and devices. Cumulatively this is 700 to 1400 hours a year of excess stresses seen about the cervical spine. It is possible that a high school student may spend an extra 5,000 hours in poor posture.

Forget about the so-called BlackBerry neck, as we will all be walking around with deep wrinkles there from tilting our heads forward all the time anyway. The real danger is what the scientists called "Text Neck," as the abnormal angle of the head for such prolonged periods while operating our smartphones will result in spine damage very quickly, and bone formations that might require surgery to fix as you age. Well, that generation is already doomed, it seems, but still, for the future, try to raise your phone as high as feasible while working its touchscreen for a longer period of time, and keep your head up straight.

source: SurgicalTechnologyInternational (PDF) via Gizmodo

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.