Have you ever been poring over the latest urgent social media messages on your phone and realised you were hurting?
So-called Text Neck is an increasing problem as millions of mobile phone users hunch over their devices to tap out messages or scroll through their social media feeds.
But University of Northampton undergraduate Josh Taylor has developed a phone case which warns you when your posture is bad while you are using your phone.
His Chin Up case uses the phone’s in-built gyroscope to determine how the user is holding their phone, and lights up in red or green, depending on whether the posture is harmful or correct. Josh has also designed an app, which works in conjunction with the case. The app tracks the user’s posture, to alert them to any potentially harmful phone use, and also displays information about simple neck exercises that the user can carry out to alleviate any muscle strain and pain.
Joshua, who comes from Binley, Coventry, said: “It’s not surprising that so many people suffer from text neck – you just have to take a look around and you’ll spot countless people hunched over their phones, not knowing their posture is causing them physical problems.
“I spoke to a chiropractor as part of my research and they confirmed this is a growing problem, with people coming to them with aches and pains from rolling their shoulders forward and slouching. “Text neck can weaken muscles in the front of the neck, and the chiropractor recommends certain exercises to build their strength back up. I wanted to incorporate that information into my app, as I was keen to ensure it didn’t just alert people to the problem, but offered a way of recovering from it too. But by making people instantly aware of poor posture, I hope the case and the app will help people to break the habit entirely.
