Mobile Devices May Be Causing Your Poor Posture-Induced Back Pain

Suffer frequent back pain? Stare down at a mobile device often? Researchers are led to believe that these two factors are connected, and for a lot of people, this is sure to come as no surprise at all. According to research group Simplyhealth, a rather staggering 84% of people aged 18-24 have admitted to experiencing backpain in the past 12 months. While back pain is something that everyone is going to experience at some point, it's rare to see it in youth, and especially at such a high percentage.

Speaking from experience, I have little doubt that staring down at a mobile device could be detrimental to your health. It's actually caused me to clue myself in when I've been staring down for too long, where I actually stop using it or switch it up and hold it in front of my face rather than down by my stomach. While I don't believe I've ever experienced back pain from gawking at a mobile device, I've certainly been hit with neck pain and headaches.

A rather alarming (but again, not-so-surprising) finding is that 18-24 year olds spend an average of 8.83 hours looking at a screen - that's generally more than most people will sleep. That's not just common for that age-group though - that's common for a lot of us.

Here's where the problem can rear its ugly head outside of personal maladies: 1.5x more work days each year are missed as the direct result of back pain.

The solution to this problem should be obvious: Stop looking down at that smartphone all the time. If it must be used, hold it high, so that it's eye-level. That's hardly convenient all the time, but suffering constant pain as a result of this constant looking-down won't be convenient, either.