低头族易患“短信脖”

As we tap away for extended periods of texting, browsing and tweeting, we could be putting ourselves at risk of getting text neck.

长时间发短信、浏览网页和发微博，我们可能患上“短信脖”。

A newly coined condition – text neck – reveals that slumping over your mobile phone, tablets or other hand-held device for hours on end heaps so much pressure on your spine, that we're giving ourselves long-lasting back problems.

“短信脖”是个新造的词，指一个人连续几小时低头看手机、平板电脑等手持设备，导致施加给脊椎的压力不断累积，最终给背部造成永久性伤害。

The root of the problem appears to be our heads which, weighing in at 4–5 kilos, are harder to support when we bend over – a little like carrying a weight at arm's length rather than closer to the body.

产生这一问题的根本原因在于我们的头部：它们重达4至5千克。我们低头时，就会很难支撑头的重量——这种情况有点儿类似用胳膊拿重物，离身体越远就会显得越重。

Example:

Text neck can lead to wear-and-tear on the spine.

“短信脖”会磨损脊椎。