Doctors yesterday said that older people should avoid tilting their head downward for long periods of time while wrapping zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) for the Dragon Boat Festival next week, warning that it could cause damage to the back and cervical vertebrae.
The Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association said that tilting the head downward for three hours is like having a 22kg child sitting on your neck for 180 minutes, likely causing back and shoulder pain, muscle weakness, a hunch, or even compression fractures.
Yang Rong-sen (楊榮森), an attending physician at National Taiwan University Hospital’s Department of Orthopedics, said the prevalence of people aged about 65 developing vertebral compression fractures from osteoporosis is about 25 percent, with the ratio climbing to 50 percent for those about 85 years old.
He said people who lead a sedentary lifestyle or often hold a poor posture for hours are more likely to develop osteoporosis, while continuously being in bad physical positions can overstretch or overcontract muscles, causing them to lose strength and become painful.
Chan Ding-cheng (詹鼎正), an attending physician of geriatric medicine, said a US study suggested that tilting the head downward at a 15-degree angle is comparable to placing a 12kg baby on the cervical vertebrae, while tilting it at 45 degrees is similar to carrying a 22kg child.
People who are used to tilting their head downward for long hours when using their smartphones to read or play games have a higher risk of suffering from neck and shoulder pain, a hunch, or compression fracture, he said.
The National Osteoporosis Society has suggested several methods for people to assess their strength, such as standing on one foot for 30 seconds, touching the back of the neck, walking 20 paces on tiptoes, brisk running or jogging for more than five minutes, or lifting weights of more than 1.5kg.
People who are unable to do four of those should start doing exercises to train their muscles and improve their bone density.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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