Workers in the City of London suffer some of the most acute neck and back problems in the country.

Luke Dillon, a leading Osteopath and head of Osteopath Direct based in Holborn, London, is seeing an increasing number of City patients suffering from chronic neck and back pain caused by working longer hours, and spending increasing periods of time working on laptops and touch screen smart phones.

At his Holborn & City osteopath practice in Central London he is treating more and more cases of postural problems in City workers and estimates that around 70 per cent of the patients he sees – predominantly office workers, bankers and students – have chronic neck and back pain as a result of poor posture.

Laptops in particular are creating a nation of slouch potatoes, increasingly damaging backs, shoulders and necks as we spend increasing amounts of time leaning over the computers, encouraging bad posture and long term musculoskeletal problems.

The new generation of touch screen smart phones have also encouraged more people to conduct business “on the go”  which has contributed to the problem as people struggle to type and read emails, whilst trying to achieve the same functionality from the phone as a PC.

Also RSI-type hand and arm pain is increasing from heavy laptop and touch screen smart phone use, often causing persistent pins and needles in hands. Solutions include ensuring that if you are using a laptop that your breaks should be more frequent than at a desktop computer. Using a docking station is a also good idea, to enable you to use an external screen, keyboard and mouse. Portable laptop stands may also be useful, allowing the screen to be raised (your eyes should roughly be at the same level as the top of the screen).  Smart phones should be used to read and respond to short emails and holding them up to head height will help to alleviate  neck and shoulder pain. If playing games or using apps then regular breaks should be taken.