Much like sitting at a desk for too long or bad posture, excessive cell phone use is being attributed to a rise in neck and upper back injuries in younger people.

It's more common than ever to see people with their heads angled down looking at their phones, usually for a couple hours a day.

Dr Jeff Reihl is a chiropractor at Crescent Park Chiropractic Centre. He says he's noticed the trend in recent years, which is resulting in more visits from young people.

"If you think of your head like a weight, when that weight is balanced on the shoulders with proper posture - meaning that it's centered on the shoulders - as soon as you move your head forward, now what's happening is an isometric contraction of the muscles of the back of the neck that maintain that posture. If you do that for hours on end, which is what a lot of kids are doing, that's where problems lay."

Dr Reihl recommends people on their phones hold it up at eye level to prevent their heads from leaning forward, and to be aware of your posture while spending time looking at your smartphone. 

"Basically it just boils down to limiting use. Not playing games on your phone all the time. Short usage where you're basically texting for a short period of time, putting it down and going back to normal posture - it's all about not overdoing it; that's the main thing that we're talking about."

He says it all comes down to awareness.

"I think it's just a matter of paying more attention to the proper posture and limiting use in a nutshell. Trying to recognize that there is a problem there and it's very correctable. It's all about awareness."

To counter the effects of text neck, keep in mind the '20-20-20 rule'; every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and look at a point 20 feet in front of you so you are forced to raise your chin.