Technology a pain in the neck
Teenagers who spend several hours a day in front of a screen are boosting their chances of developing aches and pains, researchers said.
An international team of researchers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland found a strong association between watching TV, computer and gaming screens, and backaches and headaches in teenagers.
Their study has been published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.
The researchers followed 31,022 adolescents who were part of a larger study, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, over a two-year period.
They questioned the teenagers about how much time they spent per day on screen-based activities - watching TV, using a computer or playing video games - as well as their subjective experience of pain during the waking hours.
The researchers found on average teens in the study spent six hours per day in front of a screen.
About one-quarter of boy and girls regularly experienced backaches and about one-third of boys and half of girls experienced regular headaches.
The longer they sat in front of a screen, the more likely they were to experience headaches and backaches, the researchers found.
The relationship persisted even when the researchers allowed for other factors that might influence subjective experience of pain such as exercise, stress and depressive symptoms.
But the researchers found considerable variation from person to person, suggesting sitting for long periods of time is a contributing factor rather than the primary cause of the aches and pains.
Associate Professor Nicholas O'Dwyer, of the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Sydney, says he is not surprised at the findings.
He says sitting for long periods at a computer or games console is not an optimal position from a biomechanical point of view.
He says the body's load is not distributed through the vertebral column as it should be - joints and muscles in the spine become fatigued and stressed and if it continues for long periods without rest, they may become inflamed or damaged.
"It's similar to the overuse or RSI injury that adults get when they sit at workstations all day long," he said.
Professor O'Dwyer says people who slouch while sitting or whose posture is poor are most at risk.
He says to lower the risk of headaches and aches and pains, teenagers should make sure they sit up straight while sitting at a screen, take frequent breaks, use an ergonomic chair and ensure their table is at the correct height.