“Text neck” is another term you may have heard. Think about what happens when you bend over to look at your phone: Compared to holding your head upright, this leaning forward position increases the force on your neck muscles and cervical spine by a factor of four or five, said Dr. Jason M. Cuéllar, an orthopedic spine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. This excessive force, he said, can weaken the ligaments in the spine over time and cause pain. A 2017 study found a link between texting and persistent neck, shoulder and upper back painalthough other studies have no connection found.
The cervical spines of some young patients treated by Dr. Cuéllar sees are also bent in abnormal ways. This could also be related to frequent smartphone use, he said, and may increase the risk of back problems. “What we think that does is it leads to accelerated disc degeneration,” he said, referring to the deterioration of the intervertebral discs, small shock absorbers that sit between the vertebrae to help us move comfortably. “We’re seeing more younger people, in their twenties, often in their thirties, for cervical spine problems.”
How to reduce the tension?
What should you do if your phone hurts you — or if you’re worried it might eventually happen? Although my friend’s doctors glossed over the idea that her phone had anything to do with her sore hands, she ended up getting rid of her large smartphone and buying a smaller one to see if that would help. She also started using a speech-to-text option to reduce the strain on her fingers. Her pain quickly disappeared.
dr. Schwartz agreed that a smaller, lighter phone might be a good idea if you have small hands, and that the speech-to-text tool can relieve pain by reducing the strain on your fingers. She and Dr. Enriquez recommended phone grips and stands such as those made by PopSocket and Caprice, too, which can take a lot of the strain out of holding a phone off fingers and thumbs. dr. Cuéllar said it might be helpful to use a kickstand that holds your phone at eye level so you don’t have to strain your neck to see it.
If you’re experiencing a lot of pain, it’s a good idea to see a physical therapist or a doctor, such as an orthopedist or physical medicine specialist, as they can recommend treatments and stretching exercises, said Dr. black. “If you catch these things early, they don’t tend to become chronic,” she said.
But of course, if something hurts you, the easiest solution is to stop doing it. In other words, dr. Wolf said, “The best advice would be put your phone down.”