We as humans living in the 21st century have a tendency to be glued to our hand held devices. We spend close to 2 hours a day staring at mobile or tablet screens at average. The angle that we use to look at our phones or tablets to get the most optimal view puts a lot of strain on our necks and spine.
Chiropractors in the US are now seeing a growing number of patients who are coming in with chronic neck pain that is being caused by increased used of mobile phones and tablets. The common term that is now being used for this epidemic is text-neck and it’s becoming a growing concern for men and women of all ages.
Text-neck as it is framed is caused for hunching over to have a look at your hand held device. The strain it puts on the spine and neck is immense, it effects are even worse when people already suffer from poor posture. Some of the easiest ways to prevent text-neck according to Sandy Bowman from Health Source of West Des Moines is to “You can, instead of looking down, you can raise your device up. So, you’re looking more directly at it.”
Dr. Bowman also recommends doing some short exercises at work to relieve the stress on the neck by “Just sitting up straight at their desk. Place their hands underneath their desk and just push up under the desk like they’re going to lift the top of the desk up. What that does is really activates those muscles that get weakened from head forward posture.”
She also added that it’s important to identify when the pain is not relievable through the above means. If you have reached that stage, its important that you immediately visit a chiropractor that can asses the damage and provide medication before your text-neck turns into a chronic back and neck pain.
So the next time you plan to pick up your phone, don’t forget to pay close attention to how you hold your device and of course maybe cut down on time you spend working from a smaller screen. If you still face neck pain and back pain the best thing to do is consult a professional chiropractor that specializes in chronic pain.