PHOTO: The shocking 'text neck' X-rays that show how children become hunch backs due to addiction to smart phones

Pictured left is a 17-year-old boy and in the centre a 16-year-old girl is developing a 'hunchback'. The chiropractor has even seen one seven-year-old patient, pictured right, with 'text neck.'

One of Australia's leading chiropractors, Dr James Carter, has warned that 'text neck' - often brought on by staring at phones for several hours - is becoming an epidemic. He revealed he had seen an 'alarming increase' in the number of patients with abnormally curved spines over the past few years and said 50 per cent of them are school-age teenagers.

These shocking X-rays show teenagers and children as young as seven developing hunchbacks and abnormally curved spines because of an addiction to smartphones.

Continue after the cut....
A leading Australian chiropractor has warned that 'text neck' - a condition often brought on by bending over phones and tablets for several hours at a time - is becoming an epidemic.

The condition is often brought on by staring at phones for several hours, pictured (left) is a man in his early 20s with a severe backward curve and (right) is a man in his 80s showing extreme degeneration

Dr James Carter, based in Niagara Park, on the NSW Central Coast, said the relatively new condition can lead to anxiety and ­depression as well as spinal damage.

He revealed he had seen an 'alarming increase' in the number of patients with the condition over the past few years and said 50 per cent of them are school-age teenagers

'I have started seeing lots of cases over the past two years, especially in young schoolchildren and teenagers,' Dr Carter told Daily Mail Australia.

'The condition is called 'text neck' because it is often caused when people sit with their heads dropped forward looking at their devices for several hours at a time.

'Instead of a normal forward curve, patients can be seen to have a backwards curve. It can be degenerative, often causing head, neck, shoulder and back pain.

'Many patients come in complaining they have a headache, but we actually find text neck is the cause of it. They often fail a simple heel-to-toe test and tend to fall over.'
Research suggests that smartphones users spent an average of four hours a day staring at their device - resulting in up to 1,400 hours a year of excess stresses on the cervical spine.

The posture we adopt as we stare at our phones causes excessive wear and tear that may eventually require an operation to correct it.

Dr Carter, a former governor of the Australian Spinal Research Foundation, said the spine can shift by up to 4cm after repeated head tilts.

Culled - Dailymail

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