Forget about “text neck” – now we’ve got “phone knee” to worry about! Using your smartphone too much has already been linked to all sorts of health issues, but a fresh study is adding some surprising new complaints to the list of problems caused by overuse. When you’re glued to your phone all day, most of your body gets neglected, and that lack of movement is wreaking havoc on your muscles and bones. And guess what? One of the surprises in store for you is that it’s leading to a whole lot of knee pain.
A recent study from the NIH found that if you’re clocking more than four hours a day on your phone, you’re seriously upping your risk for all sorts of joint and muscle problems. And get this – they specifically tied excessive phone use to knee pain. Josh Gordon, a Tech Expert at Geonode, chimes in, saying, “When we’re constantly hunched over our phones, our body weight shifts, and this can place added stress on the knees.”
It’s pretty obvious that this applies to all the other issues related to developing osteoarthritis from sitting around too much. Our bodies are built for moving around, which helps keep our joints lubricated and our muscles, tendons, and ligaments nice and flexible. So, when we’re stuck sitting for ages, it messes with those natural processes, putting stress on our knees’ complex structure and throwing things out of whack.
Plus, if you’re packing on the pounds from chilling out too much with your phone for over four hours a day, it adds even more pressure on your knee joints, tendons, and ligaments. And when we’re constantly hunched over our tiny phone screens, it messes with the positioning of those parts, making things even more out of whack.
A few years ago, another study found that when we tilt our heads down to look at our phones, it’s like putting a whopping 66 pounds of pressure on our spine. That’s what leads to those pesky “texting neck” issues because it’s just not a natural posture. Back then, folks thought that leaning forward messed with the whole support system – from the spine to the neck and shoulder muscles and all the ligaments in between. And now, it looks like the same thing’s happening with other big joints in our bodies too.
The researchers are saying it’s high time we dial back on our phone time to help ease knee pain. They’re suggesting setting some limits on screen time and swapping out those hours glued to our phones for some moderate exercise instead.