Do you Suffer from Text Neck?
Text Neck is becoming a common health issue. Small wireless gadgets are transforming the way we live our lives. Many of us spend hours looking down at a small screen It’s highly likely that are you’re looking down at a wireless device to read this article, with your head slumped down. Do you suffer with: headaches, eye strain, shoulder and neck pain or back problems? If you do, you may well be suffering from Text Neck.
What is Text Neck
Text Neck is a term used to describe the injuries and pain sustained from looking down at your smartphone and other wireless devices. The common symptoms associated with text neck are: shoulder pain, headaches, and upper back pain.
Smartphone Use is an Obsession
As well as this obsessive behaviour being unsocial it’s also very damaging, I don’t mean to me necessarily, I mean to the user. Excessive behaviour of having your head kept in a certain position, and your eyes excessively focused on the screen. This is causing untold damage to your neck. Text Neck is a growing epidemic with the potential for damaging your body permanently. The posture you adopt when you look at your screen increases the stress on your neck. Your head weighs between 10-12 pounds. As you angle your head to look at the screen, the weight placed on your head, at most, place an additional weight of 60lbs onto your neck!
Increasing The Risk
You’re also increasing your risk of headaches, difficulty in breathing, as well as general back pain. You don’t realise how often you’re looking at your phone, for how long, or the damage you’re causing to yourself.
This isn’t the first time your mobile devices have been the cause of physical distress. Some years ago, GP’s were seeing a rise in finger and thumb injuries due to patients constantly typing on their mobile phones which resulted in repetitive strain.
Reports have also highlighted iphone hand from repetitive swiping of the screen. The US (and after today, I’m sure the UK) has seen an increase in pedestrian deaths from people being too engrossed in their technology to look more carefully at what they’re doing.
Another problem that text neck has highlighted is eye strain. The muscles of your eyes are not getting the chance to work properly and this can also damage to the muscles of your eyes. Read about Orthoptic Therapy Nottingham
How to Fix Text Neck & Relieve The Pain
There are a number of ways to help relieve the pain from Text Neck. Neck and chest stretches on a daily basis can help release some of the stress placed upon your neck and shoulders. I could suggest spending less time looking at your screen (yeah right!) or adjust the angle at which you view it.
In response to this problem, The Riverside Natural Health Centre have adapted their upper body massage, back massage, and full body massage to include more neck and shoulder stretches. This includes an effective stretch to the cranium to reduce strain and incidences of headaches brought on by text neck.
Finally. How You Can Avoid Neck Pain from Prolonged Texting
Symptoms of text neck can include:headaches, neck pain and upper back pain. You can reduce the problem by making sure you carry out some simple stretching exercises.
BBC Radio Nottingham interview with Bernadette Jukes and Sharon Cooper
Listen to the BBC Radio Nottingham interview with Bernadette Jukes and Sharon Cooper who have some simple suggestions of how to reduce pain caused by text neck syndrome.
If you want to protect your, head, neck and shoulders’ from further damage. Book a consultation treatment, let us show you the correct exercises to help reduce the problem.
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