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.

The human head weighs about 10lbs. Did you know that just 15 degrees of forward head tilt can triple the weight of the head on the spine?  Looking down at digital devices everyday puts repeated stress on the neck that can lead to “Tech Neck” or “Text Neck”.  This has become one of the most common causes of headaches for kids and adults.  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)

So, what can you do to help?

Keep it simple, put your phone down and take breaks, switch up your position, stretch often, raise your device to eye level, support the back of your neck with a head rest, pillow or the back of the couch.

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