Mind your posture: Doctors cite long hours in front of screen for increasing lifestyle diseases
The number of working professionals visiting hospitals with muscular, spinal, eye and heart disorders and mental concerns has increased 30-40% now compared with last year, doctors said. Many of these patients are millennials and Gen Zs, who spend long hours at work to stay relevant in workplaces that are changing fast with the disruption caused by artificial intelligence.
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The rise in disorders linked to long hours working on computers has also led to terms like Tech Neck, Text Claw, Sitting Disease, Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, Dead Butt Syndrome and Digital Fatigue Syndrome finding their way into the medical vocabulary. Doctors said many cases are so severe that they need medical intervention and at times even surgeries.
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At Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, 70% OPD walk-in patients were elderly, mostly 60-plus, until four-five years ago, said Seema Grover, head of the Department of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation. But now they are much younger. 'Around 60-70% are now 20-40 years of age. This is especially true of younger professionals in corporates with long working hours who come with biomechanical and postural concerns.'
Among these patients, degenerative changes are seen much earlier in the spine due to muscular imbalance and repetitive stress injuries.
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Excessive screen usage is damaging, especially with wrong posture, said Grover. Use of screen compels one to bend his/her neck at an around 60-degree angle and the neck has to strain to maintain the head position to bear 10 pounds (about 4.5 kg) load in neutral. 'This is six times the strain/load the muscles take compared to when in an upright position,' she explained.
Long screen hours also cause damage to the heart, brain, muscles, and even lead to mental disorders, say doctors.
'We have seen an unprecedented surge — an almost 25–30% rise — in OPD visits over the last year alone due to sedentary lifestyles,' said Ripen Gupta, principal director and unit head of Cardiac Sciences, Cardiology, at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital. More and more 25- to 35-year-olds are coming with hypertension, obesity-related issues, and even pre-clinical heart disease, he said.
Lifestyle-induced asymptomatic heart failures among people in their 20s is also becoming more frequent, said experts.
Lower bone mineral density, early osteopenia, spinal disc-related problems, spondylosis and easy fractures are some other common disorders impacting working professionals. There is also a reported surge of palpitations due to stress, atrial arrhythmias, and metabolic syndrome at a younger age.
These chair-bound routines are detrimental to vision as well, causing 'dry eyes, blurred vision, computer vision syndrome and early cases of carpal tunnel syndrome due to prolonged use of laptops/phones/desktops, excessive screen time and disturbed sleep cycles', said a medical expert.
The unprecedented rise of competition, along with the fear of being replaced by AI, is creating a crushing pressure in the workplace, leading to mental health conditions emerging as a result of excessive screen time. 'We are seeing a rise in youngsters and middle-aged people presenting with neurohormonal and neurochemical changes linked to significant anxiety and depression and low concentration,' said Sameer Malhotra, director and head, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital.
Kamna Chhibber, a clinical psychologist at
Fortis Healthcare
, sees the problem not just in physiological terms but also as a deeper psychosocial shift. 'The nature of workplace pressure has evolved. The insecurity now is not just about job loss but about staying relevant. People are overworking to stay competitive, and loneliness, anxiety, and emotional withdrawal are all prevalent,' she said.
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