Gen Z is not old enough to have back pain and osteoarthritis

Gen Z is quitting work because of the same aches and pains as previous generations, but at significantly higher rates. According to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Alvica Medical, Gen Z (those born from 1997 to 2012) miss work a lot because of back, spine, neck and shoulder pain.

Data shows that 24% of workers between 16 and 26 years old quit their jobs this year because of neck or back pain. Meanwhile, only 14% of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) do this. About 18% of millennials (born between 1990 and 1996) quit their jobs for the same reason.

“Gen Z are the people who suffer the most from neck, shoulder, nape and back pain at work. They are the first generation to fully inherit digital advances. I think this is related to the condition. their back pain,” said Alvica Medical chief executive Victoria Fransen.

Doctors have previously warned younger generations about the growing threat of “tech neck”. This is a curvature of the upper spine due to years of lying, sitting in the wrong position, and looking down at smartphones and tablets for hours every day.

Scoliosis is a common musculoskeletal deformity. The disease can occur at any age, but focuses on the elderly due to the effects of bone and joint degeneration, but is now appearing more and more in young people.

Chiropractor Jake Boyle, director of Central Health Chiropractic Hospital, recently shared alarming X-ray images of cervical spine curvature he received at work.

“If you are under 35 years old, you need to pay attention to this. We have the back and spine of an elderly person. There are many reasons behind this condition,” he said.

He pointed out some young patients with hunchbacks, with “horns” growing from the base of the skull due to bending over to use cell phones a lot. The strange phenomenon is called external occipital bone spur. First noted by French scientist Paul Broca in 1885, the condition is so rare that it has been almost completely overlooked until now.

David Shahur, a biomechanics researcher and clinician at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, said “only in the last decade” has he seen patients with this deformity. There has been research on external occipital bone spurs published above Journal of AnatomyProfessor Shahur hypothesizes that the frequent neck-crouching posture of mobile device users may cause additional pressure at the point where the neck muscles meet the skull.

“Imagine, your body is generating a type of stalactite and stalagmite. If no one touches them, they will continue to grow,” he said.