After years and years of research into how technology effects our sleep patterns, social patterns and financial patterns, Kenneth K. Hansraj, chief of spine surgery at New York Spine Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine is talking to us about how cell phones effect our....backs. Well specifically our spines (Hence the Spine Surgery part of his title.)
According to the article, people who text and walk consistently rarely use what is known as "neutral spine" position. If you were to use neutral spine (on purpose) that would mean that you are looking down at your technology using your eyes, as opposed to turning or bending your neck.
According to the article, "People spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smartphones and devices. Cumulatively this is 700 to 1,400 hours a year of excess stresses seen about the cervical spine." Using your technology this way has the effect of pushing down on your head with the equivalent of 27lbs (on average) of force.
That's pretty bad.
So keep texting and chatting folks, but remember to keep proper posture! Proper posture according to the article: Proper upper spine posture, he says, is generally defined as aligning the ears with the shoulders while keeping the shoulder blades pulled back.
We wouldn't want something measly and unimportant like our health and general well-being to effect our rad, social network-infused lives, but it's worth thinking about.
I wonder what other tiny ways jumps in technology such as cell phones and social media/ social networks have effected our/my life? Positive or negative! (I've read about some awesome health apps that do great things for diets and work outs.)
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