Remember the hullaballoo about the Blackberry thumb, a condition that supposedly arose due to overusing Blackberry phones and mobile phones in general? That was many years ago, and now, there is some other medical condition that can be blamed on using mobile phones way too much.
Called text neck, the medical condition is supposed to be the result of spending too much time hunched over your mobile phone, presumably texting. While the name is limited to one activity, the text neck may actually result from other activities that you do on your mobile phone and/or tablet. Whatever it is that you like doing on those devices, the fact that you spend considerable time in a hunched over position can result in text neck.
So what does text neck do to you?
It’s the same as many other repetitive strain injuries. In this case, though, the neck muscles are flexed and in severe cases, the muscles may become fixed in your favorite position. It would be perfect if that position were comfy, but you might feel sharp pains if you try to move your head to catch a second look of that hunk who just passed by. If left untreated, text neck can also result in permanent arthritic damage. Arthritis is painful at its best, and who would want that kind of pain in the neck area?
Seriously, though, I doubt that the average person spends so much time on their phone and/or tablet with the head and neck assuming a single position. Even those of us who make a living online move our heads every now and then to be more comfortable, right?
On the one hand, I think that the chiropractors who have coined the term may have a serious concern. It does make sense that if the head/neck is in a single position for very long periods of time, such a condition as text neck can arise. Think of the times you’ve woken up with a stiff neck.
On the other hand, I really do not think that text neck can arise due to normal usage of these devices. Even if you use them a LOT.
Am I just being stubborn? What do you think about text neck? Serious threat or just some people making noise?