Could texting KILL you?

We have known for many years that texting and driving causes impairment similar to drinking and driving and is associated with nearly 4000 deaths per year from car accidents.

Chiropractors have also known for years that when people adopt a hunched-over posture while using phones or tablets, they tend to develop a forward head posture that causes neck and back pain and spinal dysfunction.

Now a new study by the UK United Chiropractic Association (UCA) says that texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time could lead to a lower life expectancy. Poor posture could pose as big a risk to a person's health as obesity. They showed that the hunched-over, forward head position constricts breathing and blood flow, making the heart work harder.

UK United Chiropractic Association (UCA) Study Shows Link between Texting and Lower Life Expectancy

The new research suggests a link between forward-leaning postures that people use while texting, going online, sending emails and playing video games, and hyperkyphosis, which is associated with pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems.

The study suggests that when someone drops their head and rounds their shoulders while looking at a phone or tablet, it is harder for them to take a full breath because of the restriction to their muscles.

In addition, the ribs cannot move properly so the heart and lungs cannot function to their full effectiveness.

More often than not, people do not know they could be doing serious long-term damage to their body because the short-term effects are not as noticeable, the study says.

It's only later in life that the effects are noticeable and can seriously affect the quality of life.  The biggest fear is that young people, who are by far the heaviest users of mobile technology, will develop irreversible problems that may lead to early death.

Chiropractic procedures to help with texting-related posture

In my practice I have noticed that the increased prevalence of forward head posture problems has coincided with the explosion of smart phone, tablet and laptop use for work and leisure.

The study compares the risk of early death from poor posture to the risk of having a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30, which places and individual in the obese range. Currently some estimates claim that obesity is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in this country. It is startling to consider that poor posture from texting can equal that risk.

We live our lives in such a way that oftentimes we are ruled by technology and we use our phones, tablets and computers so frequently that it is easy to overlook the effects it is having on our posture. 

The good news is that we all have a degree of control over this issue.  We can limit the time we spend on our mobile devices, and we can bring them to eye level to reduce the poor posture.

The recommendation that we make here at The Joint Cottonwood Heights is that you come in for a postural evaluation and appropriate chiropractic treatment to improve forward head posture and help lower the associated risks.

~ Dr. Hendricks