Ranchi: For 36-year-old Rachna Singh, a typical morning turned into a nightmare when she found herself pinned to her bed, unable to move due to excruciating neck pain. What she initially dismissed as bad sleeping posture turned out to be a severe case of cervical distress, triggered by relentless hours spent hunched over a laptop. Her story is not an outlier in the city, as doctors have reported a surge in cases where enhanced screen time affects leads to health issues in youngsters as well as working professionals.While Singh represents the workforce, 17-year-old Ansh recently found himself in an orthopaedic clinic after a sharp, stabbing pain in his right thumb. It was diagnosed as “texting/smartphone thumb” or tendonitis, a direct fallout of longer mobile usage. Orthopaedic surgeons said that their OPDs are flooded with patients as young as 13, all bearing issues related to more screen time.Dr Ekansh Debuka, an orthopaedic surgeon, said that he treats at least six to seven such cases daily. He said that among the younger generation, the most common complaints involve the thumbs and wrists. Continuous scrolling causes tendonitis and De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, a painful inflammation of tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, often coupled with cervical issues from lying in awkward positions while using mobile phone. For working professionals, slouching and poor ergonomics affect the neck and lower back.He said that these issues can be prevented with posture correction and simple ergonomic changes like using a good chair, a wireless keyboard and mouse and if necessary, setting the screen in the right position, among others.For children, it is important to have a screen-time lock. “As a doctor, I can give medications to suppress the symptoms, but it is up to the person to take corrective actions,” Debuka said.Dr Vinay Prabhat at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) stated they get 10-12 patients every day whose problems in the cervical and lumbar regions are linked to longer screen time, often without patients realising the connection.Prabhat highlighted that a lack of outdoor activity, with children spending more time on smartphones, is leading to reduced bone mineral density, hampering their physical development.“Parents should be more watchful and instead of giving phones to their children to keep them busy, they should encourage outdoor sports as it is very important for a child’s physical development,” he said.He said that using a well-supported chair, sitting up straight, and taking breaks after half an hour or 45 minutes can alleviate the health issues. He added, “Back extension exercises and isometric neck exercises help too. Taking calcium and vitamin supplements and consuming milk, curd, cottage cheese, green leafy vegetables, among others, help to strengthen bones.”
