Texting can be a real pain in neck

Anchoring themselves in front of computer terminals is doing nothing for young peoples' posture and local chiropractors are reporting a growing number of teenagers suffering from aches and pains.
Chiropractors have termed it "text neck" and according to the New Zealand Chiropractors' Association, cases are on the rise.
The phrase was coined for a repetitive stress injury to the body from using hand-held devices such as mobile phones, portable gaming units, MP3 players and e-readers.
Wanganui chiropractor Dr Alistair Ross said he was seeing more young people coming to him with aches and pains and he said the root cause could be sheeted home to the increasing computer-based activities.
"Sitting at computers for long periods without any postural change can lead to problems," Dr Ross said.
He said that prolonged posture problems also meant young people especially were not doing enough physical exercise.
He said most of the problems were showing themselves in neck and shoulder pain and headaches.
"We're seeing kids becoming quite stooped through the constant use of things like computers and computer games," Dr Ross said.
He said parents need to get their children seen by a chiropractor "sooner rather than later".
"The longer these youngsters have the spine out of alignment the harder it becomes to make positive changes for them," he said.
He said his practice was seeing children in the early teens and some as young as 10 and 11 with these problems.
Nolan Chiropractic Clinic Wanganui practitioner Sharon Elmslie said while she couldn't put numbers to it she was seeing an increasing number of "text neck" cases, mainly in teenagers.
"It's mainly the younger people who tend to live on mobile phones or game boards," Mrs Elmslie said.
"They tend to slouch and spend hours at it. Often it's an issue of an earlier injury triggered by excessive texting or gaming with poor posture."
Mrs Elmslie had several tips to help avoid "text neck", including holding screens in front of the face and taking breaks.
Dr Hayden Thomas, a spokesman for the NZ association said it was believed that when someone had their head flexed forward while looking down at the screen on their handheld mobile device for long periods of time, the bones and muscles of the spine adapted to that posture and changes occurred.
 
TEXT NECK
* Pay attention to posture when you are texting or looking at a handheld device
* Hold your phone directly in front of your face while texting or reading emails to avoid bending your neck downward
* Take regular breaks. Repetitive tasks for long periods without a break results in cramped, sore muscles and repetitive strain injuries.