By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Have you ever watched people as they walk down a street, or walk through the mall, or sit in a waiting room? Almost everyone has their cell phone in their hand. Notice the position of their head while they stare at the phone screen. Their head is bent forward! This position causes a strain to the muscles and tendons in the neck and shoulders; and possibly the low back. This position changes the natural curvature of your neck. Your neck moves forward, your shoulders round forward or lift up toward your ears and your neck and shoulder muscles spasm (contract). Neck muscles are designed to support the weight of your head, about 10 – 12 pounds. According to the Cleveland Clinic, research shows that for every inch you drop your head forward, you double the load on those muscles. Looking down with your chin to your chest can put approximately 60 pounds of force on your neck. Dr. Dean Fishman, a Chiropractor in Plantation, Florida has coined this condition, this repeated stress injury, as: Text Neck.

Excessive texting and playing of video games can result in what is known as: Black Berry Thumb. (So named after the mobile device.) A strained tendon, tendonitis or triggering.

The digital age has given us the cell phone, iPad, E-Readers, Tablets, Lap Top Computers which all require you to look downward, bend your head forward. As screens tend to decrease in size, additional strain is put on your eyes. Dry, itchy and/or burning eyes, blurry vision, headaches; a condition now known as: “Digital eye strain or Computer Vision Syndrome.” As we age and have to wear prescription eyewear, these conditions can exacerbate.

Improper posture, or slouching, restricts your lungs’ ability to expand, impairing lung capacity. Inhaling less oxygen means your heart needs to pump harder to distribute more oxygen carrying blood through your body. This can lead to vascular disease. Gastrointestinal problems can be caused by pressure placed on the organs in a bad posture.

The above conditions occur in people of all ages, now also including children. Recovery takes longer in people in their 50’s & 60’s, as they have “less tissue tolerance”. Add work to all these “social” functions and you can see that it is possible that we are all predisposed to injury. That is why work place ergonomics, ergonomic education and safety training is so important. Workers’ Compensation is not meant to pay for pre-existing conditions and in order for a pre-existing condition to be considered “aggravated” under the Workers’ Compensation Act, there must be a “medically distinguishable change in pathology”. An allegation of pain alone is not sufficient. And that is why we ask so many questions while investigating injury claims submitted to our office.