Excessive internet surfing linked to back pain--survey

Long hours of internet browsing can raise the risk of a sore back pain, especially in middle aged women, a poll conducted by researchers in Britain reveals.The survey results found that a large number of middle-aged women in the UK spend most of their time on social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, and suffer from chronic back paindue to hours hunched over computers.

Previous studies have shown that back pain is the most common kind of health issue, next to headaches, among 50-year-olds.

Study details and findings

For the purpose of study, researchers conducted a poll on 1,000 British women, aged between 35 and 50 years.

It was found that three in four women, that is, 78 percent were in agony because they spent too long sitting at a desk at work or on the net. Out of these, nearly one in five or 18 percent reported severe backache every day.

A third admitted they were in pain every few days and nearly a quarter said they suffered mild back pain between once a week and once a month.

While 44 percent of the women revealed they could not walk easily, only 15 percent said they were too tired to go out socially or work.

"Back pain can be intense and make life difficult for sufferers, with discomfort badly affecting their home, work and social lives," the Daily Express quoted physiotherapist Sammy Margo as saying.