Is Your Cell Phone Dangerous?
By Randi Morse
How many times have you been walking while looking at your cell phone? How many times have you accidentally bumped into something, or someone, while you were doing that? If you're like most people, this has happened more than once. It's far too easy to lose spatial perspective when you are walking and trying to respond to texts at the same time. A new study is showing that there are a number of head and neck injuries that can be directly linked to cell phone usage.
Cell Phone Injuries
Researchers looked at data from a hundred hospitals in the United States in order to determine how many people had an injury that was directly related to cell phone use. the data came from over 2,500 patients and spanned over 20 years. The research conclusively showed that about 40 percent of cell phone injuries occurred at home, and that "direct mechanical injury," a situation in which a patient was directly injured by the cell phone, such as the phone hitting them in the face or the battery exploding, was responsible for 47 percent of those cases. About 10 percent of the injuries happened when a person was driving while 7 percent occurred when the user was walking. Interestingly enough, the study showed that cell phone usage had dramatically increased after 2007, which is when the Apple iPhone was introduced.
What Does This Mean?
So we see, clearly, that a number of people have been injured by cell phone usage. Does this mean that we should stop using cell phones? Of course not. Cell phones are extremely handy allowing us to access information, communication, and even documentation anywhere that has cell service. GPS tracking alone has been a life-saving application for many people.What this study shows is that we need to be a little more cautious when working with our cell phones. If you are using your phone at home don't lay in bed and hold the phone over your head. This is a very common injury and can be easily prevented by avoiding holding the phone over your head. You can also avoid getting repetitive stress injuries in your neck and shoulders by avoiding stooping over when you use your phone. Keep your phone at eye level whenever possible, this relieves stress on your neck and shoulders.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Derby, Kans.