Sean McCawley, Fit for Life: Your posture and smartphones | Columnists

What happens when we deviate from adequate posture and bend our bodies like candy canes while peering downward at our phones for hours? The neck stays flexed forward for prolonged periods, putting compressive forces on the bones of the neck as the cervical vertebrae scrunch together. The seated position of the hips, slouching forward while the knees are extended, puts stress on the lower back near the lumbar and sacral vertebral junction point. This suboptimal posture underutilizes the stabilizing muscles responsible for keeping the spine rigid and vertical.

A simple solution is to visualize the body from a side profile and line your neck, armpits, ribs, hips, knees, and ankles in a straight line. Instead of peering down at your phone in a seated position, look at the phone while standing. Additionally, use your arms to bring the phone up to eye level to prevent your neck from bending forward. This horizontal line of vision from your eyes to your cell phone screen helps avoid factors that can lead to neck, shoulder blade, and low back pain. Applying this simple tactic can save your neck and reinforce your posture to keep your spine from getting injured.

Not only is it important to remind ourselves to view our phones in an ergonomically correct body position, but it’s also noteworthy to notice the time we spend on the phone. Do we need to look at our phones all the time?

There was a time where we only used phones for talking. Now, we can’t go anywhere without brandishing our fancy phones from our pockets and looking at them. Granted, they do offer us important advantages to our daily activities. However, if you’re outside, put the phone down and enjoy the outdoors. It will always be in your pocket or purse ready for you to interact within your downtime. In the meantime, when you’re out and about outdoors, practice optimal posture by looking forward while standing up to reinforce your spine.