Among a group of 38 young adults with no history of neck, shoulder, or back pain, researchers found that engaging in just ten minutes of static neck flexion (looking downward at a smartphone, for example) resulted in potentially harmful changes in cervical sensory motor control. More specifically, the research team observed that prolonged neck flexion led to impairments in both the participants’s ability to return their head to a neutral position and to quickly make adjustments to compensate for movement elsewhere in the body. The research team concludes, “These changes in sensory-motor control may be a risk factor for neck pain and injury.”

Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, April 2018