CHILDREN & TECHNOLOGY

Neck pain in young children and adolescents used to be few and far between. Recently though, Chiropractors and Physiotherapists are seeing more and more young ones complaining of neck pain and headaches and it boils down to how much time they are spending looking down at a screen.

Don’t get me wrong, technology is remarkable. The smartphones and tablets we hold in our hands have more processing power than the computers used to send men to the moon. We may use all that computing power to watch cat videos on YouTube, or stream endless episodes of Peppa Pig for the little ones. But this constant screen time is becoming an issue, according to a study by Common Sense Media, the daily mobile screen time of kids today is 10 times higher than it was in 2011, so we can only assume that children’s neck pain and headaches will begin to follow that progression.

A recent study took a sample of 461 parents with children between the ages of 11-16. 40% of these children had suffered from neck or back pain and, worryingly, 15% of parents said their child’s pain was directly resulting from using technology.

So what?

Slumping over can lead to an increase in tension in the neck, which makes the nerves more sensitive to pain. This can lead to the child experiencing tension-type headaches, which is like a tight, pressing pain on both sides of the head and sometimes even at the base of the head. We also know that tilting the head forward by 45 degrees adds a force of about 22kg to the neck. That is a lot of extra force on the spine for long periods of time.

This continued posture can lead to neuromusculoskeletal issue later in life, such as:

• Arthritis

• Disc injury

• Muscle strain

• Frequent headaches

So what can you do?

Here are some simple rules that should help break the pattern that we’re seeing (this is coming from someone who doesn’t have kids, I know it’s written far easier than it’s implemented!):

1. Limit the amount of time spent on any device, encourage outside activity, especially as they are spending more time on laptops and Ipads doing online lessons during COVID-19.

Lead by example, less time online equals more time being present with your family. Teach them to sit properly, alternatively have them lying on their stomachs and looking up at the Ipad.

2. Seek professional advice if concerned - Don’t forget that Chiropractic care is for everyone! The youth of today lives are embedded with technology, so make sure they know how to use it effectively and in ways that is the lest detrimental to their health. Chiropractors can make sure your child is free from joint restriction and dysfunction so that using technology doesn’t make an already existing problem worse, and make sure they know there is a lot more to the world than Peppa Pig on replay.

Cheers,

Team Hughes Chiropractic

(Blog post is written from a combination of my experiences and the various research I have read over time).