Regular use of laptop could damage your health and may cause problems in your spine, neck, shoulders and other serious orthopedic pain because of poor posture, warn British scientists.
Laptops are useful for traveling businessmen, students, executives and those who need convenience, portability and power.Sale of notebooks and laptops soared in India last year. According to the Indian Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), notebook sales grew by a whopping 180 percent between April and September 2006.
Health experts are worried because booming laptop sales have led to a surge in the number of computer users with back and muscle problems, reported online edition of BBC News. Girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage caused by slouching over screens, a group of leading chiropractors said.
A common problem is perching a laptop on the legs because then the users stare down at the screen and strain their necks, spines and legs.
London-based chiropractor Michael Durntall, who was among those calling for more research into the issue, said he had seen dozens of x-rays showing signs of degeneration in the joints of regular laptop users.
"Mothers bring in their 12-year-old daughters suffering back pain and when they arrive I can see their slumped posture straight away," said Durntall.
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Vikas Gupta, an orthopedic surgeon at New Delhi's Fortis Hospital, said, "I get at least four to five patients every week with hand and arm pain due to repetitive strain injury, which is induced by resting wrists against the edge of a laptop."
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Source-AFP
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