Previously, office syndrome was a common ailment among city dwellers, but now a new condition has taken the lead: smartphone syndrome. This is a result of prolonged smartphone use. The alarming aspect of this condition is that it can affect anyone with a mobile phone, whether they are young children, teenagers, working adults, or even the elderly.

Most people are often unaware that symptoms such as pain, stiffness, numbness in the neck, back, arms, or even fingers arise from the behavior of not putting down their phones. This leads to tension in the neck, shoulders, and back muscles, as they have to bear the weight of the head leaning forward to look at the phone. Additionally, they may experience shoulder hunching, arm numbness, and sharp wrist pain from holding the phone in a static position for too long. There is also pain in the thumb area due to repetitive muscle use from chatting. The solution is to reduce smartphone usage and engage in physical exercises with the following movements, performed twice a day and before bedtime, to avoid expensive physical therapy costs.


1. Adjust your posture by raising your phone to eye level. This will prevent you from bending your head forward and straining your neck and back.


2. Take a small towel and wrap it around your neck. Sit up straight, hold the ends of the towel with both hands, and slowly tilt your head back while pulling the towel to create resistance. Hold for 5 seconds, then return to the starting position. Repeat 20 times.


3. Stand against a wall until you feel both shoulders and the back of your head touching the wall as much as possible. Raise your arms to 90 degrees and look up to eye level. Then slide both hands up as far as you can (keeping the backs of your hands against the wall) or to a height that is comfortable. Return to the starting position and repeat 20 times.


4. Sit on a chair with a pillow or a small stuffed toy placed in the small of your back. Interlace your fingers behind your head, tilt your head back, and lean back until you feel your chest open and your back stretch. Repeat 20 times.


Because everyone has the same amount of time, what differs is how each person chooses to use their time meaningfully. Use social media and your phone in moderation, engage in other activities, and spend time with those around you to allow your body and mind to rest.

 

Thank you for the information from www.thaihealth.or.th