DO GADGETS AFFECT HEALTH…..PART 2

DO TABLETS CAUSE NECK PAIN?

Have you got ‘iPad neck’ yet? A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health published in January is among the first to look at the possible ergonomic impacts of Tablet use – and there’s both good and bad news in store.
The bad news is that most common ways of holding and using Tablets seem to put considerable strain on your neck muscles – especially compared to typical desktop computing setups.
“The neck has seven bones called the cervical vertebrae,” says Dr Manoj Sharma, chairman at the department of orthopedic and spine surgery, Jaipur Golden Hospital, New Delhi. “All of them are connected with two joints on the side. When you look down at a Tablet that’s on your lap or flat on a table in front of you for long periods of time, you put considerable stress on these joints.”
The symptoms: persistent headache on the back of your head and axial neck pain that can go down all the way into the shoulder blades and the arms.
“Cervical spondilysis, which once affected only people over 40 is now common in most young patients under 20 who I treat,” says Dr Sharma.
Next time you’re watching a movie on your iPad, help your neck muscles by propping up the Tablet against a heavy object (we like ours against a stack of books) and putting it more or less at eye level.
What’s the good news? Tablet users seem to shift position and move around more than laptop and desktop users. Phew!