Smart phone induced neck pain and postural changes are of chronic progressive nature. Timely interpretation and intervention along with good ergonomic advice will aid in dealing with “Text Neck Syndrome”. Incorporating simple changes in daily posture and lifestyle by taking frequent breaks from prolonged positions and general aerobic exercise helped with relieving neck pain.
Context
“Text neck syndrome” is a modern problem described as a repetitive stress injury or overuse syndrome where a person’s head is hung or flexed in a forward position for prolonged periods of time.
In today’s world, where the technology has advanced, people are spending an increased amount of time on handheld devices such as Smartphone, tablets and e-readers. This review summarises the evidence related to the “Text neck syndrome”, its management and future implications.
Methods
- A structured literature search was done using electronic (including MeSH database) and print databases from January 2013 to January 2017.
- Inclusion criteria was English language studies, human subjects, available literature on text neck syndrome in smart phone user.
- This strategy yielded 45 studies out of which 10 including survey, cross sectional, cohort, randomised control trials were reviewed and reported.
Results
- Within the ages of 18-44, incidences of neck pain were higher with mobile phone usage with approximately only 2 hours of their waking time spent without electronic devices.
- The most common condition that contributes to neck pain was found to be prolonged forward head and rounded shoulder position.
- There was clear evidence that incorporating simple changes in daily posture and lifestyle by taking frequent breaks, general aerobic exercise helped in relieving the stress on neck and shoulders.
- There was evidence that doing posture-focused exercises increases awareness and reduces the stress on the neck and shoulder.
