Texting may trigger heart attack and breathing problems

Texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time may increase one's risk of heart attack and breathing problems later on in life, according to a new study.

The UK United Chiropractic Association (UCA) claims that poor posture as an effect of using mobile devices represents a significant risk to a person's health. The new research suggests a direct link between forward-leaning postures that people use while texting, sending emails, playing online games and going online, and hyperkyphosis, which is linked to cardiovascular problems and pulmonary disease.

Chiropractic experts involved in the study suggest that when people bend their heads and round their shoulders while using a phone or a tablet, it becomes harder to take a full breath. As a result, the ribs are unable to move properly and the lung and the heart cannot function to their full potential.

Estelle Zauner Maughan, UCA executive member, told the Daily Mail: "We tend to drop our heads forward which rounds the shoulders and this is what we term forward-leaning posture. People are now definitely at an increased risk of having problems through the top of their neck and back because of their posture, which is causing a change in the curve of the back."

The UCA confirmed that the effects of such posture may not be noticeable early on in life, but may get worse as the person gets older.

Maughan believes that forward-leaning posture has many more negative effects than what medical professionals previously thought.

UCA recommends that people get their posture checked by a chiropractor so as to ensure they are not headed down a dangerous road.