This smartphone posture can damage the pelvis and lower back

An unconscious, asymmetrical posture while using a smartphone can threaten lower-back health as well as contribute to forward-head posture, according to medical professionals.

Habits such as leaning against one side of a sofa with the legs crossed, or watching a phone in bed while supporting the upper body with one elbow, shift body weight to one side. That creates excessive pressure on the pelvis and lower back.

A recent study of 30 healthy adults compared physical changes after participants used smartphones for 30 minutes while sitting cross-legged, with their legs gathered to one side, and with both legs extended forward. Pelvic tilt increased over time in the cross-legged and one-sided positions. The one-sided position also produced continuing asymmetry in pressure on the two buttocks.

By contrast, the relatively symmetrical position with both legs extended produced no clear changes in pelvic tilt or uneven buttock pressure, the report said.