Text Neck is the new “epidemic”
Proper posture is an important part of every person’s health. Good posture helps to minimize abnormal stresses on your spine, while projecting confidence and adding inches to your stature! With poor posture comes increased stress in certain regions of your spine. Over time this increased stress can lead to stiffness, pain and permanent changes in your skeletal system. It is very difficult to reverse the changes once they occur, so everyone should always try to maintain good posture to reduce the negative stress on the skeletal system.
SLEEP:
We spend 1/3 of our life in a lying position. If our sleeping posture is poor, we may be causing unnecessary stress on our skeletal system. The recommended way to sleep to minimize the stress on your spine is on your side. Your knees should be bent with a pillow placed between them. Your head should be relaxed on a pillow and should not be bent or twisted in any direction. Sleeping on your back or on your stomach can put increased stress on certain regions of your spine. A good mattress and pillow is also a wise investment!
TEXT NECK:
With most people looking downward on their devices it’s not hard to understand how much heavier the head becomes on the spine. The human head weighs about 12 pounds, but as the neck bends forward and down at 15 degree angle it’s weight is about 27 pounds, at 30 degrees it’s 40 pounds, at 45 degrees it’s 49 pounds, at 60 degrees it’s 60 pounds!
For years, experts have warned people that for every inch the head tilts forward, it doubles the pressure on the cervical spine. The effect is similar to bending a finger all the way back and holding it there for about an hour. Spinal tissues become stretched and inflamed over a long period of time, causing muscle strain, pinched nerves, disc bulges, and changing or reversing the natural curve of the neck.
THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT!
Recently, an app was created by a Chiropractor and Physiotherapist to remind people to hold their smart phones up to avoid neck muscle fatigue by adjusting their posture.
The “Simply Align” app is available for both Android and Apple devices. It helps people create healthy tech habits, and to avoid the problems that “text neck” can cause, such as headaches and neck pain. If you keep the phone perfectly vertical and at eye level there would be no alerts. However, if you tilt the phone back a bit it will alert you to fix your posture. Your neck usually tilts with the phone. After 20 minutes it will remind and instruct you to do your neck stretches.
Teenagers might benefit the most from this app, as they are the demographic who spends the most hours each day looking down at their phones. Younger people are showing up in chiropractor’s offices with spinal problems that used to only be seen in older adults. If we can teach young people to be aware of where their head is in space, they can still enjoy spending time on their devices without risk of spinal problems.
TIPS TO TRY:
- Look down at your device with your eyes and keep your head up!
- Move your head from left to right several times.
- Push your head against your hands that are providing mild resistance, first forward then backward.
- Stretch the chest muscles (the pecs) by reaching behind you and clasping your hands together and pulling downward.
- Keep your chin tucked back to avoid the neck from jutting forward.
Technology is a wonderful thing, but we are learning that there are limitations to our posture while on our devices and computers. Getting up frequently from a seated position helps change the biomechanics of our posture, and prevent muscles from repetitively being used in a way that fatigues them, and changes their patterns.
