When you feel a pain in your neck, there may be several reasons for the cause of it. Maybe you need a new mattress or you’re feeling the aftereffects of an accident? But have you ever thought that modern technology could be the source of your pain?
If you didn’t know, there is a condition called text neck, and it affects people more than they realize. Do you want to learn more about it? If so, continue reading the content below.
What Is Text Neck?
Text neck is a fairly new term that describes the painful side effects associated with the continuous use of electronic devices— particularly cellular phones. When a person is always bending their neck to look down at their electronic devices, it puts stress on the muscle and joints around the cervical spine.
Folding your head and neck down for an extended period of time results in back pain, headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and even numbness within the arms. Text neck is a condition that affects all age groups, no matter if you’re a child or an adult. But of course, since young people are more prone to view their smartphones and tablets more often, these symptoms generally affect them most.
Common Text Neck symptoms
If you are spending too much time looking at your phone and other devices throughout the day, your body will let you know. Not only that, but tilting your head adds additional weight onto your spine.
For instance, when you’re standing or sitting upright, your spine only has about 12 pounds on it. But bending at a 30° angle adds an additional 30 pounds. But if you’re completely slumped over at a 60° angle while looking at your phone, it adds 60 pounds of weight to your neck and spine.
Here are some of the most common symptoms of text neck:
Pain: Pain is one of the ways that your body lets you know when it’s suffering in a damaged area. In this case, you’ll feel an aching pain in one spot of your neck or along the entire area of your neck.
Stiff Neck: As a result of bending over, you may experience soreness within your neck or difficulty turning your head. This symptom happens more often for individuals who use their mobile devices for longer periods of time.
Headaches: When there is muscle tightness originating from the base of the skull, it can cause tension headaches. As a result of text neck, you may experience headaches in the front of the head or even the back of the head.
Radiating Pain: in addition to the head and neck, you could also feel pain in your shoulder blades, shoulders, and arms due to text neck.
Everyone’s body is different, so you may experience a different type of symptom. However, these are the most common. If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s imperative that you pull back from using your electronic devices for long periods of time.
How to Reduce the Effects of Text Neck Syndrome
If you start to experience painful symptoms as a result of bending over to look at your phone, there are ways to combat them. Here’s what you can do:
Take Breaks
If you are someone who has to look at your phone or laptop for work, you may not be able to avoid text neck completely. However, by taking frequent breaks, you’ll give your neck the relief that it needs.
Every few minutes, lift your head up. Look left to right and rotate your neck around to get the blood circulating in the area. This will help to keep your muscles loose and keep them from stiffening.
Cut Down on Usage
If you don’t have to look at your phone for work, then reduce the amount of time you spend on it. If you’re spending hours of your day slumped over and looking at social media, it’s going to affect you.
Instead of spending six hours a day online, reduce it to only three. If you’re having a hard time staying away from your phone, consider viewing your tablet or smartphone from a different angle. Sit in a relaxed position or look at it as you are lying down.
Be Aware of Your Posture
It’s understandable if you can’t reduce the amount of time that you’re on your smart devices. However, you can change the way you look at them. Instead of bending your neck to look down at your phone, try to keep a neutral head position. Keep your head upright and your shoulders pulled in an upright position.
Hold Your Phone at Eye Level
Again, sometimes it’s hard to remember to maintain good posture. Plus, when you’re relaxing, sitting up straight doesn’t always feel comfortable. So, bring your phone up to eye level. By doing so, it’ll keep you from bending your neck.
Exercise
Regular exercise isn’t just good for helping you to maintain a healthy weight. Working out can also improve the strength and flexibility of your neck and back. As a result, if you are bending over to look at your phone, you won’t feel as much stress on your spine since your muscles will have the tolerance to withstand the additional weight.
If your text neck condition doesn’t improve, see a chiropractor. Check out Unify Chiropractic to find out more about therapy services.
Avoid the Pain of Text Neck
Text neck is painful. But thankfully, it’s also avoidable. By being more aware of how you’re positioning your body while using your mobile phone, you can avoid an aching neck.
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