Can playing computer games cause neck pain?

The answer is… Yes! 

Most children have heard their parents at one time or another yell “sit up straight!” or “do not slouch!”. In the past, this was usually heard at the dinner table, however, in more recent times, this can be heard surrounding another activity - computing gaming.

The number of young children with chronic pain in their neck, shoulders and back is on the rise. Studies show that pain is not a result of ageing, accidents or disease, but rather, poor posture while sedentary. For example, when playing video games.

When children look at screen monitors over long periods at a time, this can potentially cause major neck damage. This is because, when a child unconsciously leans forward while gaming, the weight of their head increases, thereby, placing additional pressure to the neck. Where the average head weighs around 5kg in normal posture, it can increase to 27kg depending on how far the head is bent forward - that is five times the normal weight! As a result, there has been an increase in the number of younger individuals with neck pain, disk hernias, and alignment problems.

If left untreated, a ‘gamers’ neck’ can lead to inflammation of the neck muscles, ligaments and nerves, permanent arthritic damage, as well as increased curvature in the spine. This is very common in our new generation of young adults who are continually connected to their computers. 

Are you experiencing physical difficulty from too much use of your computer? Call Spinal Care on (02) 8964 6385 or book online to see Dr. Stephen Yoon or Dr. Andrew Al Hage for a consultation!