Do you find yourself looking down at your phone a lot throughout the day? If you answered yes, you are not alone! A lot of today’s activities now come through our cell phones. Emails, text messages, funny videos, reading the newspaper… you name it, there’s most likely an app for it. As convenient as this is for our day to day tasks, it can certainly take a toll on our neck and cause some unfavourable pain. 

 

If you’re wondering why this happens, let’s break it down:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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🥥 Our human heads weigh approximately 10 lbs. This creates approximately 10 lbs of force on our cervical spine (neck) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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🥥 As we tilt our heads forward, that 10 lbs of force can quickly exert up to 60 lbs of force on our cervical spine (!!!)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Did you ever hang your head off the edge of a bed as a kid? Do you remember how heavy your head felt when you went to lift it back up? This gives you a good idea of what your neck endures with extreme postures. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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This is not to say that we all need to walk around with a perfectly straight neck that NEVER flexes forward. It’s when we hold these positions for sustained, prolonged periods of time is when issues start to arise. Text neck can lead to: neck pain, headaches, jaw pain, upper back pain (to name a few).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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So what can you do to help? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

-Switch up your position! 

-Raise your device to eye level

-Support the back of your neck via a head rest, pillow or backing of a couch. 

-Take frequent breaks! Set the phone down and do other tasks during your breaks. This is a great time to move your neck, stretch it out and avoid staying in a sustained position. 

-Stretch! Be sure to stretch often between long periods of using your devices. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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If you’re experiencing neck pain that just won’t subside, let us know. We’re here to help!