I remember how, as teenagers, we used to laugh at our elders' frequent admonitions to sit up straight. That was too oldfangled for us cool kids, like telling us to eat our peas and floss our teeth. 年輕時，老人總是告誡我們要挺身端坐，我依舊記得當初是如何不屑其勸告。對我們這群酷酷的孩子來說，這就像告訴我們吃豌豆和用牙線一樣過時。 Well, I'm here to say that the old folks were right. 然而，在此我想說老人們是對的。 My body recently set me straight when it rebelled against my bad habit of slumping over to look at my phone, read the newspaper or pet the cat. A disc began pinching a nerve, sending knifelike pain through my back, shoulder and down my arm. 我有個低頭看手機，讀報紙，喂貓的壞習慣，每次身體反抗這些壞習慣時，就會使我挺直腰板。椎間盤開始刺激神經(jīng)，在背部，肩膀和手臂之間傳遞著刀割般的疼痛。 It turns out that bad posture can contribute to this problem. 事實證明，不良姿勢會導致這樣的問題。 It could be worse: Doctors think physical therapy, doing specific exercises, working on my posture and medication may tackle my pain. In fact, it does seem to be working. 情況或許會更糟糕：醫(yī)生認為做些運動，調(diào)整坐姿以及服用藥物等物理治療可能會解決疼痛。事實上，物理治療只是似乎在起作用。 But this incident has made me reflect on how many people nowadays spend countless hours with their necks craned over the glowing smartphone genie. The website of the respected Cleveland Clinic（克利夫蘭診所） said three years ago that this habit is causing a malady known as "text neck". 這件事不禁讓我反思，如今有多少人耗費大量時間，低頭盯著發(fā)光的智能手機。著名的克利夫蘭診所（Cleveland Clinic）三年前便在網(wǎng)站上表明，這種習慣正在導致一種名為 “文字脖子”（text neck）的疾病。 "Typically, incidence of neck pain increases with age," pain specialist Dr. Robert Bolash said, according to the website. "But today we're seeing and treating more patients -- younger patients -- who never reported neck pain before." 疼痛病專家羅伯特·博拉什博士（Robert Bolash）表示：“網(wǎng)站數(shù)據(jù)表明，通常頸部疼痛的發(fā)病率隨著年齡增長而增加。但今天我們看到并醫(yī)治了更多的年輕患者，他們之前從未有過頸部疼痛史?！?With the head weighing around 5 kilograms, looking down constantly can change the curvature of the neck and put a huge amount of stress on neck muscles. Bolash said the pressure can be the equivalent of as much as six times the normal weight of the head. 人的頭重約5千克，持續(xù)低頭會改變脖子的曲率，給頸部肌肉帶來巨大壓力。博拉什表示，這種壓力可能相當于正常頭重的六倍。 Dr. Rene Cailliet, professor emeritus at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and a musculoskeletal expert, has written about how forward head posture -- craning the neck -- can pull the entire spine out of alignment. 雷內(nèi)·凱利埃博士退休于南加州大學醫(yī)學院，是肌肉骨骼專家。他曾寫了一篇文章，講述頭部前傾姿勢，即拉動頸部會拉動整個脊柱，使其不能形成一條直線。 It also can reduce lung capacity by as much as 30 perent, which can even contribute to heart and blood vascular disease and affect the gastrointestinal system, Cailliet has written. 凱利埃寫道，這種行為還會減少多達30%的肺活量，甚至可能導致心血管疾病，影響胃腸系統(tǒng)。 While "text neck" is a worldwide phenomenon, it seems especially prevalent among hyperwired youth in China, home of the affordable smartphone. Just watch people, especially young people, on any subway or train car. I'd bet on an increasing demand for physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons.（整形外科醫(yī)生） “文本脖子”是世界性的現(xiàn)象，但似乎在中國，這個幾乎人人擁有能上網(wǎng)智能手機的國家，這種現(xiàn)象在青年中尤為盛行。不信可以看一下地鐵或火車上的人們，尤其是那些年輕人。我敢打賭，人們對物理治療師和整形外科醫(yī)生的需求會日益增加。 I am also trying to take some practical steps to ward off neck pain and hopefully keep it from coming back or getting worse. 我也試圖采取一些實際措施防止脖子疼痛，希望避免再次疼痛或變得更痛。 Since I work in front of a computer, getting a more adjustable, supportive chair has helped. I also have elevated my screen to eye-level height to avoid looking down for hours at a time. 我工作需要常用電腦，因此一把可調(diào)節(jié)的椅??子會有所幫助。我也將屏幕抬高到了眼睛的高度，避免一次看幾個小時的情況。 I've told my colleagues that if it looks like I'm flapping（拍打） my arms as if trying to fly, I'm actually just exercising my shoulder and back muscles. 我告訴同事們，如果我像要起飛似地揮舞手臂時，實際上只是在鍛煉肩膀和背部肌肉。 I've reduced my smartphone time, but if I do take a look, I elevate the phone with my arms tucked （塞進）against my abdomen like supports to avoid craning my neck（伸脖子）. It may look weird, but it works. The alternative is a pain in the neck. 我已經(jīng)減少了看智能手機的時間，但如果確實要看一下，我便會舉起手機，并用手臂頂住腹部，像支撐物一樣，這樣可以避免伸長脖子。這種行為可能看起來很奇怪，但確實有效。如果不用這樣的方式，頸部便會疼痛。