Text Neck, BlackBerry Thumb and Our Electronic Age

Text Neck, BlackBerry Thumb and Our Electronic Age

When I started practice 40 years ago, by far the most common problem treated in our office was lower back pain. These days that injury has been surpassed in frequency by neck/shoulder and arm pain due to over use or improper use of electronics.

There is much information available regarding proper ergonomic computer use. Basically one should strive to

Sit in a supported, upright position.

Have the top of the monitor at eye level.

Support your wrist and arms while using the keyboard or mouse.

Take frequent breaks.

It is not so easy to work in a supported position using an iPhone, BlackBerry, DS games or even electronic books.

To use these handy newer electronics safely we should strive to use a lap desk of some sort. Avoid working with the device in your lap with head and shoulder slumped forward. If there is no support available, hold the device in a comfortable, relaxed position with the monitor and keyboard at a level allowing your head and neck to remain erect. Slumped head forward posture is the number one cause of text neck.

BlackBerry thumb, a painful overuse injury, can be controlled by

Keeping texts short and sweet.

Taking frequent breaks, of course.

Using a pencil eraser for key entry, and,

Using an external keyboard for extended use.

Maybe even more importantly we should consider what is proper and safe electronic gadget etiquette.

1. Never text and drive

2. Dont read texts when youre with someone else; especially during those intimate moments.

3. Never, ever, text and drive.