A 19-year-old man in Jiangsu province, addicted to playing with cellphones, has been diagnosed with the medical condition cervical spondylosis, local media reported on Monday.

Cervical spondylosis is a general term for age-related wear and tear affecting the spinal disks in the neck. As the disks dehydrate and shrink, bone spurs and other signs of osteoarthritis develop.

Bing Bing, a student at a technical training school in Wuxi, who experienced breathing difficulties, headache and pain in the neck, was diagnosed with the condition, caused by long periods of bending his head to play with his cellphone, the Nanjing-based Modern Express reported.

Bing played with his cellphone for between four and five hours a day, said Yu Yaoqing, a doctor at Xishan People's Hospital in Wuxi.