More than 67 percent of children and youngsters have bad posture, with a quarter of them suffering from abnormally curved spine as more people play with smartphones and tablets from a young age.
Children Chiropractic Foundation interviewed 1,392 youths aged 16 or below from last September to this month, and found nearly 66 percent suffered from hunchback, 43 percent from unequal shoulder height, and 24 percent from scoliosis.
Chiropractor Jacky Chan Yat-sang, honorary adviser of the foundation, said hunchback and unequal shoulder height are common symptoms of spine problems.
"The spinal cord connects the brain to nerves throughout the body," Chan said.
"If the problems are not identified at an early stage, it could lead to bone spurs and other diseases."
A study by the Department of Health earlier this year found that children start using smartphones at one year old.
Chan said the way children stare at the phones increases the stress on their neck, as they usually drop their chins on to the chest. For example, the weight on the neck increases to 27 kilograms when the head is angled down to about 60 degrees.
He said the screen of electronic devices should be held at eye level to make sure the neck and spine are aligned.
Children who need to sit in front of the computer for a long time or over 45 minutes should make sure they sit upright with their back and shoulders against the back of the chair. The feet should also be placed comfortably on the floor to avoid leaning forward, which would lead to hunchback.
Lam, a father of two, said he did not notice his children had mild scoliosis until he took them for a check-up by chiropractors. "I noticed that they have poor sitting posture, but my kids never complained to me about any unusual pain, so I wasn't aware of the problem," he said.
People with scoliosis have a spine that curves to the side, showing an "S" or a "C" instead of a straight line, Chan said.
Very often, cases of scoliosis go unnoticed as pain is rarely involved at the beginning. Parents should check by eye for the symptoms of unequal shoulder height and hunchback by asking their children to stand straight. They should also take their children to scoliosis screening every six months, so that early referral to specialists can be made, Chan added.
Source : The Standard , 21st August 2017
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