More texting means more health problems

Medical problems of the digital era are on the rise as people young and old glue themselves to their cellphones.

A new study shows that looking down to text can cause neck and back ailments. Bending your neck downward at a 60-degree angle is equivalent to hanging a 60-pound weight around your neck, according to the report.

“The average human head weights 12 pounds. When you’re leaning over, the farther you lean over, the more pressure and tension you’re putting on your back,” said Dr. Geoffrey Doner, an orthopedic surgeon at Front Range Orthopedics.

Doner said he’s noticed more text-related problems, particularly cases of trigger thumb.

“What happens from the overuse is the tendon gets inflamed and it can literally cause it to get locked over time from the overuse,” Doner said. “I had a 13-year-old seventh-grader come in with trigger thumb, with her thumb stuck like that and I had to straighten it for her. She’d been texting a lot so I did advise her to cut back on the texting as much as she can.”

Doner said cases of trigger finger can be so bad that they require

surgery. It’s a problem Doner said he generally saw amongst older people in the past, but with the rise of cellphone use, he’s noticed middle and high schoolers are developing it.

“I think it’s something that’s only going to get worse over time as people are doing more texting on their cellphones and smartphones,” Doner said.

Doner recommended using voice-activated text messaging and paying extra attention to proper posture while you text, work on a computer or drive a car.