SMARTPHONES have become no less than a necessity these days. People of different age groups spend hours on these sub-6-inch screens daily. A study by Brazilian researchers identified risk factors for the spine, which include looking at the screen for over three hours, the distance between the eye and the screen and other similar factors, according to an ANI report.
The study dealt with thoracic spine pain(TSP), which is located at the back of the chest between the shoulder blades. It extends from the bottom of the neck to the tip of the lumbar spine. The target audience of the survey was students between the age group of 14-18 years old in the first and second year of high school in Bauru.
"A baseline questionnaire was completed in March-June 2017 by 1,628 participants, of whom 1,393 completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2018. The analysis showed a one-year prevalence of 38.4 per cent (the proportion reporting TSP in both the baseline and follow-up surveys) and a one-year incidence of 10.1 per cent (new TSP reported only in the follow-up survey). More girls than boys reported TSP," ANI reports.
TSP is prevalent across age groups of the population, "ranging from 15 percent-35 per cent in adults and 13 percent-35 per cent in children and adolescents."
The report highlights massive growth in the usage of smart gadgets in the pandemic stretched the crisis. "Risk factors associated with TSP are physical, physiological, psychological and behavioural, according to several investigations." Further, evidence suggests "physical activity, sedentary lifestyle and mental disorders" impact spinal health.
According to the article, awareness of the risk factors of TSP is critical for children and adolescents. As the teens suffering from the problem are comparatively more inactive, underperform in academics and have more psychosocial issues.
During the pandemic, because of the limitations of physical classrooms, most students had to rely on Internet-enabled devices for their studies. This led to an exponential rise in screen-on times of students, repercussions of which are evident to date.