What effects will looking down at your phone for a long time have on your body?

The latest data shows that

The number of Internet users in my country has reached 1.092 billion

“When you look up, there is a computer; when you look down, there is a mobile phone”

It has become the standard for many people

However, a large number of cervical spondylosis patients were born.

In response to the various cervical spondylosis issues that are of general concern to everyone, on July 12, Lin Yuan, director of the Second Department of Orthopedics, chief physician, and master's supervisor of Fujian Provincial Hospital, was a guest on Fujian Health News' "Doctor I Want to Ask·Provincial Live Broadcast Room" to answer everyone's questions.

As of now, the total number of online views and replays on multiple platforms has exceeded 260,000 .

Cervical spondylosis is getting younger, and watching mobile phones is an important risk factor

During the live broadcast, Lin Yuan, who has been practicing medicine for decades, admitted that when he first started working, most of the patients who came to see him for cervical spondylosis were elderly people. Nowadays, the trend of younger patients with cervical spondylosis is obvious, with young and middle-aged patients accounting for nearly 1/3. He said that this is closely related to the popularity of smartphones and the long-term use of mobile phones by the public.

Lin Yuan pointed out that looking down at the phone for a long time will put extra burden on the cervical spine, causing continuous muscle tension, which may cause pain, fatigue, and even abnormal cervical curvature and structural deformation .

The forest director once met a young man in his 20s . Because he spent a long time looking down at his phone and sleeping on his stomach , not only did the curvature of his cervical spine change, but the cervical vertebrae also became dislocated. He was unable to lift his entire head and eventually had to undergo a joint reduction surgery .

"No matter who you are, if you keep your head down looking at your phone for a long time, your cervical spine will suffer serious damage," said Lin Yuan.

How to prevent cervical spondylosis? Remember these points

To prevent cervical spondylosis, Linyuan recommends:

01

The most important thing is to reduce the time of using electronic products such as mobile phones. After every 30 minutes to 1 hour of use, you should take a short break and do some neck stretching exercises.

For example, when doing neck stretching exercises , slowly turn your neck to the left, right, and backward, and hold each position for 5 seconds.

When using a mobile phone, you should raise your head so that the phone is at eye level, or use a phone stand.

02

Secondly, the higher the pillow is, the better. Generally, the height of the pillow is about one fist when lying on your back, and the height of the pillow can be slightly higher, up to one and a half fists, when lying on your side .

The best shape of the pillow is an oblong one , placed at the posterior median of the cervical spine. For people whose cervical curvature has become straight or even arched, it is best to keep the shoulders slightly higher than the head when sleeping to support the neck curve.

03

People who work at a desk for a long time should pay attention to adjusting the office environment, ensure that the height of the desk and chair is appropriate, and use pillows with a certain degree of support to keep the waist and back straight.

At the same time, do regular physical exercise to enhance muscle strength and body flexibility.

How to self-diagnose whether there is a problem with your cervical spine?

Symptoms of cervical spondylosis vary

Cervical spondylosis in medicine

And the cervical spondylosis that the public thinks

There are still some deviations

Lin Yuan said that what is considered medically as cervical spondylosis is often a change in the curvature of the cervical spine, and symptoms appear after the intervertebral disc herniates and compresses the spinal nerves. What is considered medically as cervical spondylosis may be a precursor to cervical spondylosis.

For example, neck pain and stiffness are one of the precursors of cervical spondylosis , indicating that the disease is still in the early stages.

As the disease progresses, the pain may extend to the shoulders and arms, causing shoulder pain and numbness in the hands, and may also be accompanied by headaches and dizziness.

The bones and soft tissues of the cervical spine will gradually wear and degenerate, compressing nearby blood vessels and nerves, causing the patient to experience weakness in the hands and feet, affecting walking, and even paralysis.

If you have neck pain, don’t do cervical exercises randomly

When experiencing cervical pain and discomfort, many patients like to try doing cervical exercises such as the "M" exercise to relieve the pain.

In this regard, Lin Yuan pointed out that doing cervical exercises too quickly and excessively flexing, extending and rotating will damage the intervertebral disc and articular cartilage and strain the muscles.

For different degrees of cervical discomfort,

Lin Yuan recommends that you treat the symptoms correctly——

① If it is only mild cervical pain, the symptoms can be improved by correcting bad posture. At the same time, hot or cold compresses can be used to relieve muscle tension.

② For patients with severe cervical discomfort whose nerve roots have been damaged, oral analgesics and neurotrophic drugs can be used for treatment, while cold compresses, hot compresses or ultrasound treatments can be performed.

In addition, you can also develop a personalized neck exercise plan in conjunction with rehabilitation exercises to strengthen muscles and improve cervical flexibility.

③ When the patient feels like walking on cotton, has no strength to hold objects with both hands, and has trembling hands when doing fine movements , it means that he has severe cervical spondylosis and surgical treatment should be adopted as soon as possible.