A new study reports that many more people are having back pain nowadays after increased usage of iPads, tablets, and smartphones--something the researchers are calling iPosture.
The study of 3,000 adults, launched by Simplyhealth BackCare App, found that 1.5 working days are on average lost per year for those aged 18 to 24 from back pain, compared with the number of days lost by their parents’ generation.
Furthermore, 84 percent of that age group have admitted to suffering from back pain in the last year.
“The vast majority of people experience back pain in the lower back,” said Dr. Brian Hammond, acting CEO and chairman of BackCare, the national back pain charity, in the study press release. “Over half the population experience pain in the neck or lower back every year – this survey data shows that 18-24 year olds are more likely to experience pain in the upper back and neck.
”It is likely that slumping and hunching over computers and hand-held devices is a contributory factor in the different types of back pain reported by different generations,” he added. ”Younger people are far more likely to be hunched over a device on a sofa, and would benefit from paying close attention to the basics of good posture.”
Almost all age groups spend as much time in front of devices such as laptops as they do sleeping. Some spend even more time in front of devices than sleeping.
The typical person aged 18 to 24 spends 8.33 hours a day in front of a screen, according to the study. That number drops to 6.64 hours on average for people over 55.
In addition, people are less likely to sit up straight when using a device the younger they are.
Jean Broke-Smith, etiquette and deportment expert and former principal of the famous Lucy Clayton Finishing School, said in the press release: “Although it has been decades since people learned good posture at finishing schools, the time seems right to recognize its potential to help younger people avoid the risk of back pain associated with increasing use of hand-held devices.”
“Being aware you are slouching or hunching over your tablet or smartphone is half the battle,” she added. “The other half is to counter this bad habit and the potential pain it can generate by always sitting up with a straight back with your device in a comfortable position at a reasonable height in front of you.”
*Picture from Shutterstock
