PSA: Posture and gaming

[tarzanmarzan]

Just a heads up if you haven't read (thanks Weave )

35-Year-Old Man Screws Up His Neck by Playing With His Phone in Bed

I read a great article on exercising your neck posture and preventing a lifetime of illness and related pain.

Fix Your Forward Neck Posture with These Easy Stretches

I play a lot of Star Wars Commander in bed, or just catching up on news. I never realized how I craned my neck in such a bad way. @work, I noticed how some of my elderly patients would always hunch over as well when using a walker.

And remember! Tighten those abs and sit with your shoulders and neck back, with your back straight. A physical trainer told me that doing that daily and subconsciously is half the battle when sculpting your core.

 

[stephen_az]

I am sorry but while he may have aggravated a problem, the mention of the person being an engineer indicates there was more than use of a phone in the equation. Yes, people should do things to make sure they maintain posture and strength and no, people should not be staring at phone for three hours a day. With that said, the phone use is only one factor and probably not the primary one as anyone with a non-ergonomic work station can attest.

In spite of the fact that is a lousy x-ray (in terms of quality) that is also not the spine of a 70 year old. The vertebral spacing looks pretty reasonable and there isn't exactly any significant arthritis or bone spurs. It looks like an adult with poor posture. BTW, this comment is coming from someone a decade older with three fused cervical vertebrae and two fused lumbar vertebrae due to work, injury, and heredity (archaeology is harder on the body than people might think).

Old fashioned as it may sound people need to work on posture when young and maintain things throughout their life. To that end paying proper attention when using mobile devices is certainly an essential part of the package. This sort of story though exaggerates and plays loose with the facts and that is no better than any other example of poor journalism.

 

[tarzanmarzan]

Thank you very much for the informed response. I do appreciate your critique of the article. I fell for the clickbait lol. And yes, while it is bad to stare at the phone 3 hours a day, I do believe some of his situation can be attributed to poor ergonomic of his workstation.

As someone who has worked on an orthopedics unit, I sympathize with the pain you have felt with your back surgery and I will most definitely take your word for it. I hope your line of work doesn't necessitate further surgeries. Thanks for setting the record straight, I just became concerned after reading it