Doctors seeing more younger patients with neck pain and strain

Many have tech neck syndrome linked to prolonged use of electronic devices

- Kolette Lim

Construction coordinator Jonathan Wu found himself often glued to his mobile devices during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, and because he was working from home, his lifestyle was sedentary.

At the time, he was no longer visiting project sites, and he attended meetings online using his smartphone or computer.

Said Mr Wu, 34: "I developed a bad habit where I cradled my phone on one side of my neck while working, causing my neck to tilt at an odd angle for prolonged periods." Before he knew it, Mr Wu was experiencing severe neck pain and headaches, which made it difficult for him to sleep or drive.

He said: "I was constantly in pain, and that caused me a lot of stress to the point that I told my boss I could no longer work." Mr Wu is among the many patients with neck pain and strain that doctors are seeing now and who, doctors say, are younger than those who suffered from such ailments in the past.

Many of them suffer from a condition called tech neck syndrome a repetitive stress injury caused by holding the head in a forward and downward position for long periods of time.

Tech neck is also linked to symptoms like muscle stiffness and persistent neck pain - a result of the prolonged use of electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers.

When Mr Wu visited a doctor in 2022, he was told that he likely had tech neck and fibromyalgia, a condition that can lead to lasting muscle pain and fatigue.