Your phone may seem like a good friend, but that $999 Iphone 6 you just bought might be affecting your health in a negative way.
Text neck is a term used to describe injuries and pain caused by looking down at a mobile device for extended periods of time.
Text neck is caused by the forward-leaning posture that most people obtain when sending a text while sitting and/or standing. You may recognize it as a posture you, your children and your loved ones do when responding to a text or while reading the take out menu off a tablet at home. Poor texting posture is when someone drops their head forward and rounds their shoulders forward making it impossible for them to take a full breath in because of the restriction through the muscles and because the ribs can’t move properly.
Symptoms associated with text neck include:
- Chronic headaches
- Upper back pain
- Shoulder pain
- Neck pain
- And increased curvature of the spine.
According to an article published in the Journal of American geriatric society, this kind of posture has been shown to increases the risk of an early death in elderly people. It is also causing fears that younger people might be knocking time off their lives by continually using this poor posture when they text, Facebook, or play games using their mobile devices.
Here at The Ashgrove Spinal Centre we are amazed at what people will spend on a new phone or tablet, but won’t devote the small amount of funds required to get regular chiropractic appointments. Smartphones and tablets have made it more important than ever to pay attention to your spine and posture. Good posture is no longer about how you look but about your overall health. It is vital to your health on a day to day basis to have and maintain good posture when sitting and standing, texting or walking.
How to prevent text neck:
- Hold your phone at eye level as much as possible.
- Take breaks from your phone or portable devices throughout the day.
- If sitting, support your arm on a chair or table to take the ‘load’ off the neck and shoulder muscles.
- Don’t text, or use your phone for long periods of time.
- Hold the phone close to your body to decrease the load put on your muscles and joints.
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