Featuring: Ram Haddas, MD

Text neck is described as a repetitive stress injury or overuse syndrome in the neck. It is caused by prolonged use of mobile devices with the head bent down and not moving. According to recent research literature, smartphone users spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads dropped down. This results in “700 to 1,400 hours a year of excess stress on the cervical spine. High schoolers may be most at risk, as they could spend an additional 5,000 hours per year in this position. Recently, spine providers have noticed an increase in patients with neck and upper back pain, likely related to poor posture during prolonged smartphone use. Children and adolescents may be at a higher risk and experience shoulder and arm pain, eye strain, stress, anxiety, depression and decreased school performance.

Disclosure:

Haddas, Ram: Consulting: Medtronic (E); Grants: Alphatec (E, Outside 12-Month Requirement, Paid directly to institution/employer), Aspen Medical Products (F, Paid directly to institution/employer), Medtronic (F, Paid directly to institution/employer), SI-BONE (F, Paid directly to institution/employer), The Cervical Spine Research Society (C, Outside 12-Month Requirement, Paid directly to institution/employer).

Key: A: $100-$1,000; B: $1001-$10,000; C: $10,001-$25,000; D: $25,001-$50,000; E: $50,001-$100,000; F: $100,001- $500,000; G: $500,001-$1M; H: $1,000,001- $2.5M; I: $2.5M+