Cervical spondylosis in adolescents: In the era of looking down, young people are prone to "breaking necks"

Cervical spondylosis in adolescents: In the era of looking down, young people are prone to "breaking necks"

After the holiday, many teenagers went to the hospital for dizziness and neck discomfort, and X-rays showed cervical spondylosis. The parents asked me puzzledly: Isn't cervical spondylosis an old age disease? How can a child get this disease at such a young age? I asked him if your child has been burying his head in short videos during breaks, curling up on the desk to catch up on sleep during lunch break, leaning over to do homework during evening self-study, and lying in bed all night playing with mobile phones during holidays? These seemingly ordinary lifestyles are making "cervical spondylosis", a former middle-aged and elderly disease, quietly invade the youth group. According to orthopedic data from a tertiary hospital, the number of visits for cervical spondylosis problems among teenagers in 2023 increased by 300% compared with five years ago, and the youngest patient was only 9 years old. Behind this string of numbers, it reflects the severe challenges facing the health of contemporary teenagers.

Why are fragile "pillars of life" frequently in danger?

The cervical spine is like a precision tower crane. The 7 vertebrae must not only support a 4-5 kg ​​head, but also complete thousands of head turning and lowering movements every day. When teenagers maintain a 60-degree "cell phone neck" posture for a long time, the pressure on the cervical spine suddenly increases to 27 kg, which is equivalent to hanging two large watermelons on the neck. This continuous overload state can lead to: 1. Accelerated degeneration of the intervertebral disc, loss of water content to form bone spurs 2. Strain of the posterior cervical muscles, causing chronic inflammation 3. Compression of nerves and blood vessels, causing dizziness and numbness of the hands. What is more worrying is that the bones of adolescents have not yet fully ossified. Improper pressure may affect the normal development of the vertebrae, causing the cervical curvature to straighten or even reverse. This structural change often accompanies a lifetime. The latest epidemiological survey of the "Chinese Journal of Orthopedics" in 2023 shows that the detection rate of cervical abnormalities in adolescents aged 12-18 in my country is 47.1%.

Three rules for daily protection

1. Posture modification. Establish a "three-point one-line" sitting posture: earlobe-acromion-hip joint maintain a vertical line. When using electronic devices, remember "keep your head three feet high to stay healthy": raise the phone to eye level, and the top of the computer screen to eyebrow level. The height of the desk and chair should ensure that the thigh and calf, upper arm and forearm are all at 90 degrees.

2. Regular activities. Follow the "20-20-2" rule: after every 20 minutes of electronic device use, spend 20 seconds doing the "looking up at the sky-reset" exercise (looking up at the ceiling to the limit, and slowly returning to the normal position), and ensure 10 minutes of cervical spine health exercises twice a day. The "M" exercise is recommended: slowly write the M character with the tip of your nose and feel the neck muscles stretching.

3. If you experience stiff neck or neck discomfort, go to the hospital promptly for massage therapy or Chinese medicine chiropractic treatment to correct your unhealthy lifestyle and avoid further development.

The following symptoms indicate that the cervical spine has a red light: 1. Neck stiffness lasting for more than 30 minutes in the morning; 2. Continuous "clicking" sound when turning the neck; 3. Numbness in the little finger when writing; 4. Frequent stiff neck (more than 2 times a month); 5. Unexplained decrease in vision accompanied by eye swelling. It is recommended to conduct cervical spine X-ray and MRI examinations in a timely manner, and professional exercise therapy combined with traditional Chinese medicine treatment is effective for early lesions.

Looking at the handsome men and beautiful women on the street, I remind you again: preventing cervical spondylosis is not simply "less bowing", but establishing a dynamic and balanced lifestyle. During class breaks, you may want to replace mobile phone games with badminton swing practice, and try flying kites instead of staying at home to watch TV series on weekends. When an upright spine becomes the standard of youth again, we gain not only a healthy body, but also a life attitude towards the sun. Protecting the cervical spine is protecting the infinite possibilities of the future!