1 in 4 Brits Suffer Postural Pain Due to Gadget Use

One in four Britons suffer neck or back pain due to the use of gadgets like smartphone, laptop, and eReader, finds study.

A survey by the British Chiropractic Association found that one in four of the people complain of a sore neck, back or shoulder due to using or carrying gadgets.

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It revealed that two-thirds carry at least two items of technology around with them.

A typical notebook, smartphone and eReader have a combined weight of 2kg or 4.4lbs.

Laptops appear to be the major culprit with 27 per cent of those suffering back or neck pain admitting to using a laptop for between two to four hours a day.

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Tablets like the Apple iPad are also causing concern as a fifth of users confirmed they spend up to four hours hunched over them every day.

"There is no doubt that technology plays a significant role in our daily lives, however the knock-on effect is that we now carry more gadgets around with us and spend more of our time peering into small screens," Tim Hutchful, of the British Chiropractic Association, told the Daily Mail.

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"It is important that we recognise the potential impact on our bodies and learn to lessen the impact on pressure points.

"Our muscles are designed to flex and retract. If you stay in a fixed posture for too long like peering over a phone you are putting those muscles under stress."

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"Muscles will go into spasm if they have to hold such a position," Hutchful added.

The online survey of more than 2,000 adults also revealed that 44 per cent of those who use a smartphone spend up to two hours on non-call related tasks such as texting, surfing, using apps and social networking.

Source-ANI