My Account
Some people are concerned that the amount of time slouched over portable electronic devices is leading to back and neck pains, and associated treatment needed. The problem has been dubbed ‘the iHunch’.
Before you go throwing your iDevice in the bin, let’s consider whether there is any proof of this claim, or is it a case of putting two things together and claiming an association between them? Firstly – is the prevalence of persistent back and neck pain increasing? Yes it is, despite our improvements in investigations, availability of treatment and so on. Secondly, is our use of mobile devices increasing? Yes, most studies conclude that use is increasing dramatically for most of us.
However, like a lot of things in health, that connection is not clear-cut. As well as increasing time on mobile devices, we are also much more sedentary than we used to be and our average amount of physical activity is much less than it has been in the past. A lot of jobs require sitting in static positions and time spent commuting (especially here in greater Auckland!) has gone through the roof. People are also spending more time in front of TV or video games.
All of these sedentary positions could lead to structural changes in the body, which may contribute to neck or back pain.
There is also a school of thought that diet may influence how our brains process pain. Even psychological issues such as depression, stress and anxiety can contribute towards our posture.
And here’s the next problem – we don’t actually know if so-called poor posture causes neck or back pain! In fact, there is even a suggestion that pain in people with poor posture may be more to do with altered sensitivity in their nerves, rather than any structural problems. If you have back pain, improving your posture is probably unlikely to address the root cause of your problem (although it may help alleviate muscle tension). Therefore, to blame mobile devices alone for changing people’s hunching posture and our epidemic of increasing longstanding neck and back pain is to draw a fairly long bow, and much more research is needed into the effects of using these technologies before such claims can be made.
What is important though, is that for most of us our lifestyles need to become less sedentary. Most of us would benefit from simple changes such as taking a regular break from standing or sitting in one place, and increasing physical activity. So, in my view it’s more about how we use our bodies, rather than ditching the technology – at least until we know a lot more about its effects.
