Laptops are dangerous / not dangerous: back pain edition

Look out, laptop users -- your machines are out to kill you in more ways than one. Not only do you need to worry about exploding batteries, a new article in London's Daily Mail claims that "girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage" from slouching over laptop screens. The main problem appears to be bad posture when using the laptop on your, uh, lap -- hunching over in this way apparently causes chronic back problems in all sorts of people. While we've certainly put a crick or two in our necks after a long work session on an plane, the story strikes us as being classic scare-journalism: although a lot of frightening statistics are trotted out, no published research is cited and the two main sources quoted are chiropractors. On top of that, the article gets one very important aspect of laptop use incredibly wrong -- the reason integrated wireless has made laptops so popular is that you can stretch out on the couch and browse the web instead of slumping over a desk. Funny thing none of those chiropractors mentioned that, eh?

[Paul @ May 31st 2007 4:46PM]

i saw this on the news.i have a laptop and my back dosent hurt

[WonderWoman @ Jun 2nd 2007 10:58AM]

It's not saying throw out lap tops ... which are certainly a great invention of our time. I have been suffering with really bad back pains because of bad posture using my lap top. Not just occassionaly .. i am on the laptop for near 16 hours a day for work and at times - slump, slouch and work in the bed. These have caused back spasms, in me. it may not be the case for everyone but certainly has caused me some pain.

[Alex @ May 31st 2007 4:49PM]

I'm not saying there's no danger, but the laptops are certainly not to blame. Especially now that wires are essentially a thing of the past.

Actually I more frequently get back pain when I am sitting down, hunched in front of a computer for extended periods of time, not when I am using it in my lap.

[Osiris @ May 31st 2007 4:50PM]

Stop reading the Daily Mail, it is utter garbage.

[Ryhan @ May 31st 2007 4:51PM]

WTF! I ALWAYS work via laptop because of portability and flexibility! My back is quite fine thank you very much... what were these people trying to accomplish anywyas? It's not like most pepole are going to go buy adesktop and throw out the laptop because of this...

[Steele @ May 31st 2007 5:01PM]

Bullsh*t, not that i don't understand that this is possible i just doubt it especially since when i use my laptop i lean back, not slouch forward. I just don't think that most people slouch when using a laptop. On the other hand, like Alex said, when i use my desktop computer i tend to slouch more. Who know's? I guess we should all just stop using computers and gadgets because of the possible threat to our health, YEAH RIGHT!

[nyuuuuuu @ May 31st 2007 5:23PM]

I don't understand why you need a science degree to figure this one out. If your in any position that hurts, generally it means that if you continue to stay in that position your going to have problems. I have a laptop and it hurts to use it because I don't have a place where I can properly use it ergonomically. The most place I use it is in bed and for 12-year-old girls, I'm sure that's where they use it too (along with cellphones).

I agree that it -can- cause back problems, perhaps even nerve damage. I don't think that it can cause something like sciosis(sp?) but it can definitively cause problems somewhere depending on your posture.

Chiropractors can't generally fix things, but they can temporarily adjust your back. Certain things they can fix permanently but for the most part, once you have a back problem, you wont get fixed =/ So take this word advice more than a grain of salt and be careful how you posture yourself or get a bad back like i got from slouching over a computer for over a decade.

[michael @ May 31st 2007 5:29PM]

Does this apply only to macs?

[Ryhan @ May 31st 2007 5:31PM]

Yes, apple has released a new, ergonomically unfriendly breed of Macs designed to force people into submission. Bow down to the new electronic device capable of hurting you without exploding or causing eye-strain...

-----
The end is near

[Jon @ May 31st 2007 5:45PM]

Why is Engadget linking to the Daily Mail? It is one of the most disgusting papers around.

[Andrew H. @ May 31st 2007 6:23PM]

from the article: "Mothers bring in their 12-year-old daughters suffering back pain and when they arrive I can see their slumped posture straight away"

1) why do 12 year old kids have laptops in the first place

2) isnt it obvious that injuries and body degenerations are bound to happen to kids at an age when their bodies are still developing.

[fosh @ May 31st 2007 6:33PM]

Chiropractors? Psh!

[Aaron @ May 31st 2007 6:37PM]

I bet everyone who read this suddenly corrected their posture... and that's all it's worth.

[Matt O @ May 31st 2007 6:37PM]

Simple solution... buy a palm folio, haha i can see it now...Laptops are dangerous buy a Palm Folio the most trusted brand in almost but not quite laptops.

[DJBro @ May 31st 2007 6:50PM]

if anything my laptop allows me to work more comfortably than the confined space of my desk

[Chuckles McGee @ May 31st 2007 7:08PM]

I can see all the headlines "EXPERTS SAY YOUR COMPUTER IS HURTING YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN", "PCS ARE DAMAGING YOUR KIDS:DELL REMAINS SILENT". You just have to love our hysterical media.

[Jeff Doyle @ May 31st 2007 7:16PM]

I actually have nerve damage from this.
It's not that funny.

[tony @ May 31st 2007 7:27PM]

just thinking about the daily mail gives me diahorrhea, and that's a bad thing. it's the worst paper in the uk, written by hacks, fascists and dick-bags. don't read it, or you become bono, and everyone hates bono.

[Bo @ May 31st 2007 8:09PM]

That's why I always try to use external display and keyboards, and with some adjustable stands like ergotron. when in travel mode, I pack a little copy holder withme and use that to elevate the whole notebook though I have to type in an very bad position...

[Mike Klein @ May 31st 2007 8:24PM]

This is why I recently bought a UMPC (PepperPad3) and tablet pc (Fujitsu ST5111).

A laptop forces you into hunchback mode and is only good for banging out long letters and coding.

For reading, browsing and design tasks a tablet (or smaller umpc) is far superior.

[dustyn @ May 31st 2007 8:29PM]

Next thing you know there is going to be a law requiring a huge yellow sticker on the cover of every one like the ones for seatbelts stating the danger and proper usage of them.
Just what we need. More idiot proofing.

[charlesgreene4 @ May 31st 2007 8:33PM]

Settle down everyone. I happen to agree with this. I am using an Ibook G4 and i am having back problems. The problem is not with the computer but instead its how you sit using the laptop. So HA

[Andrew H. @ May 31st 2007 9:54PM]

i wouldve thought that to be common sense.

[Aranittara @ May 31st 2007 9:22PM]

Chiropractors get a very bad reputation in fact one of my adult friends who is a chiropractor is attempting to distance his company from this stereotype
granted not all chiropractors are great but you have to attend med school and then chiropractic college to become a chiropractor not exactly the kind of thing the average joe can claim to have done. My chiropractors also use applied kinesiology and cranial sacral.

[James @ May 31st 2007 10:43PM]

I had a Dell laptop loaned to me by one of my college classes -- "desktop replacement" grade, ~10 pounds plus cords/accessories, all in a 2-3 pound hard-sided briefcase-style carry case. Towards the end of that semester, I had such terrible neck spasms on the side opposite where I usually carried it (3 times per week on the walk from my apartment to campus) that I had to miss almost a week of class because I couldn't walk without seizing up in agony -- I still have one or two of the horse-pill painkillers they prescribed. I'm not saying that *all* laptops can cause injuries -- compare to some of the preposterous school books they make little middle schoolers tote around all day -- but don't discard the notion out of hand.

Also:
The problem with chiropractors is that half of them are actual medical doctors who understand the workings of the human skeleton and will try to correct long-term problems by adjusting the way your muscles position it, which actually makes sense. The other half are modern-day witch doctors that talk about your fucking chakras and auras and how your Qi is out of alignment, which is of course utter, unfettered horse shit. There's a little crossover, too -- one guy my wife saw seemed like he knew what he was talking about and actually helped her with some significant back pain -- this was *not* psychosomatic -- but had one or two ads in his lobby for obvious snake oil-type "therapeutic" products. This is why people like Penn and Teller "debunk" chiropractic therapy, when they're actually "debunking" new-age healing (the medical equivalent of Scientology).

[Irfan @ May 31st 2007 11:15PM]

chiropractors do NOT go through traditional medical schools. they go to a 4 year chiropractor college after undergraduate. anyways i thought that getting carpal tunnel syndrome from a laptop would probably happen more often than a messed up nerve in your back.

[Moneeba @ May 31st 2007 11:59PM]

I bet you are slouching over your laptop right now while reading this comment.

[Moneeba @ May 31st 2007 11:59PM]

I bet you are slouching over your laptop right now while reading this comment.

[Moneeba @ May 31st 2007 11:59PM]

I bet you are slouching over your laptop right now while reading this comment.

[hydrogen_wv @ Jun 1st 2007 8:57AM]

I have a friend who will soon be graduating from chiropractic school. She has an undergrad degree in biology and then went to the school. No med school.

Another problem i'm sure is that most kids now days are inactive. Inactivity leads to weak, unflexible muscles. Weak, unflexible muscles lead to pain, generally. This relates closely to what Andwer was mentioning. Childs bodies are developing and are more prone to problems.. if they are not active. Many studies have been done with kids strength training. Imagine.. young children that are active can train to lift 100+ pounds over their heads repeatedly with no issues...

When you go to physical therapy, they fix a lot of problems with stretching and strengthening. Sciatica, Plica Syndrome, etc...

I have horrible posture. Always have. I stay active though and have never had any issues.

Oh, and to the person that said chiropractors don't fix anything. They can re-align your vertebrae. If you have a pinched/impinged nerve, they can fix it. If you let it get to the point of actual nerve damage, it's likely your own fault and there's not much they can do except keep it from getting worse.

[Will S @ Jun 1st 2007 2:26PM]

I think there's some merit to this, even if there isn't a great list of sources on the article. As a consultant (read: primary work computer is, by necessity, mobile), I spend 8+ hours a day hunched over a laptop, and I'll be damned if it doesn't take its toll on my back and neck.

[petersam @ Aug 20th 2007 7:49AM]

If an osteopath said it was bad I would be worried.