Advances in technology can be great, but they've also led to the development of new ailments. The latest has been dubbed "text neck."

The ailment has been discovered by chiropractors, one of which, Rachael Lancaster, of Freedom Back Clinics in Leeds, said: "Text neck is caused by the neck being flexed for a prolonged period of time. Sufferers are increasing as the use of smart phones and tablet computers become more popular."

Now, before you scoff, and well you might, remember that the neck normally has a slight backward curvature or lordosis. If, instead, it were to be straightened or even curved forward, it would be a problem, and would cause pain and even arthritic conditions.

While some might say, "it's a chiropractor," we've seen neck x-rays with arthritic conditions and a loss of lordosis: straightened, so to speak. Indeed, it was our own x-ray, and we've had neck problems, meaning pain, for years, that have required chiropractic adjustment to relieve. Ours, however, was unrelated to texting.

That said, can bending your neck downward to read texts or instant messages really cause "text neck?"

Lancaster described it as follows: "Imagine sitting on your ankle sideways for 10 minutes. It would feel stiff and sore when you returned it to its natural position. That is exactly what people are doing with their necks. If people continue to put their necks in these positions, the body will gradually adapt to the stresses."

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