How harmful is it to look at mobile phones while walking?

Reference News Network reported on March 29 that the Spanish "El Pais" website recently published an article titled "Why is it best not to use mobile phones while walking?" ” by Anna Burnes. An excerpt from the article is as follows:
Smartphones have become an accessory when we go out on the street. It is not difficult to conclude this just by looking at the people we meet on the street. Because while the phone is sometimes carried in a bag or pocket, in many other cases it's in the user's hand as they walk around sending messages, checking social media or recording videos of themselves.
This kind of multi-tasking behavior will not only lead to traffic accidents (in 2015, the Spanish Ministry of Transport warned that 98% of traffic accidents in which pedestrians were at fault were caused by the use of mobile phones), but will also affect our posture, Concentration and walking style are affected.

Changes in body posture

If we watch a video of a person using a mobile phone while walking, we will find that his arm holding the mobile phone is bent and slightly raised, and his head is also tilted. In other words, we lose the swing of our arms when we walk by holding our phones.
Fernando Ramos, head of the Spanish Association of Physiotherapists, said: "The swing of the arms is very important to help stabilize the body and improve lateral balance when walking." Stopping the swing of the arms "may reduce stability when walking or lead to forced adoption Energy-intensive stabilization strategies, such as increased activation of trunk muscles or adjustments to stride length, to increase the base of support and control the tendency for greater lateral excursion resulting from cell phone use."

Improper head position

"This posture is characterized by a forward tilt of the head and a significant curvature of the cervical spine. Walking in this way places undue mechanical stress on the muscles of the neck and upper back," notes Ramos. "For example, when our neck is upright and consistent with the trunk, the weight of an adult's head is about 6 to 8 kilograms, but when we bend the neck, the weight on the cervical spine increases to 27 kilograms. This means maintaining a 50 to 60 degree bend in the cervical spine.” This change in posture can cause pain in the craniocervical area as well as in the shoulder and shoulder girdle area.

Cause of vision problems

"Continuously looking at the mobile phone screen while walking can also cause visual fatigue." explained Pilar Serra, professor of physical therapy at the University of Valencia in Spain. While this happens when we're standing still looking at our phones, when we're walking while using our smartphones, it can lead to accommodative fatigue or visual stress, which means it's harder for the eyes to focus from near objects like a phone screen. ) is transferred to a distant place (such as the surrounding environment)”. The expert pointed out that when you stare at a screen for a long time, the ciliary muscles of your eyes will become tired, and it will take longer for the eye muscles to relax and focus into the distance.

Increased risk of falls and accidents

At the same time, Ramos stressed: “Using a mobile phone while walking significantly increases the risk of falling or having an accident in urban environments, with shocking figures showing that 7% of people in Spain Crush traffic accidents are related to the use of mobile phones, and more than 50% of people have collided with other people or objects while using mobile phones. "

Diminishing the benefits of walking

In addition, if you use your mobile phone while walking, the risk of walking will be reduced." Many benefits would be diminished. "Using your phone while walking can cause an increase in cortisol, a stress-related hormone, which can negatively impact our mood and reduce the positive effects of walking in keeping us physically active and healthy," Ramos said. /Tian Ce)

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