Do you experience upper back pain ranging from a chronic, nagging pain to sharp, severe upper back muscle spasms? How about shoulder pain and tightness, possibly resulting in painful shoulder muscle spasm? If a cervical nerve becomes pinched, pain and possibly neurological symptoms can radiate down your arm and into your hand. All of these symptoms relate to “Text Neck” or neck and back pain due to frequent and prolonged usage of gadgets.
This condition is usually associated with kids or teens but it actually affects a wide range of people. A recent study shows that 79% of the population between the ages of 18 and 44 have their cell phones with them almost all the time—which is why this ailment have become commonplace.
People rely on their phone for everything not just social media. Reading news, reading e-book, checking email, online shopping, playing games, and so much more. Also, not observing proper posture whether sitting or standing. Often times, when people get bored being in one position for a long time they tend to slouch and tilt their heads forward. Even activities like driving or working on a desk also makes a person tilt his head in an unnatural position for a long time.
What It Does To The Body
Headaches
If the neck is always bent forward or in any unnatural position the muscles at the back of your neck will start to tighten and hurt. When this happens, you clench your jaw without noticing which then leads to headaches.
Straighten Or Reverse Your Neck’s Natural Curve
This one may not happen overnight, but when it does it can be difficult to correct damage of poor posture.
Shifts The Body’s Center Of Gravity
The head’s forward posture affects not just the neck but as well as the entire body. The upper body drifts forward which then causes the upper back muscles to tighten and hips to tilt forward. By then, your entire body’s balance is off so you start suffering from the following:
Neck and upper back soreness
Pain in the middle or lower back
Numbness or tingling in the hands and arms
Here are some tips you can practice to not only alleviate upper back and neck pain but to also restore healthy neck curve that people tend to lose due to electronic usage habits.
Hold Your Gadget At Eye Level
This then keeps you from having to bend your head forward. There are eve phone holders that you wear around your neck so you don’t have to hold it but it will still keep your gadget at eye level. Or if you don’t have that, try to place it on a table so that you’re looking straight at it instead of down to it.
Take Frequent Break From Using Your Gadget Or Computer
If you have to be on your phone or computer all day due to work or for whatever reason, you should at least take breaks throughout the day. This at least gives your neck a break from the pressure of being bent forward all day long. If you’re at work, a minute or two away from the computer for every hour or so should do. But if you’re at home, try to not be on your phone a lot. You don’t have to be on social media or play games on your free time all the time anyway. You’ll be fine without your phone for a few hours. Use your time at home to not only give your neck a break but to get more movement since you’re sitting at work for an extended period of time.
Make Sure Your Workstation Is Ergonomic Friendly
Another great way to combat and prevent text neck is to arrange an ergonomic-friendly workstation. Since you spend majority of your time there, you should at least make it comfortable for your body.
If your job requires you to use handheld gadgets and be online all the time, then do yourself, or your neck, a favor and use a tablet holder. This will, at least, keep your tablet at eye level so neck pain and other possible injuries may be lessened.
Listen To Your Body
There’s a reason why your neck or back hurts, so don’t just ignore it because you’re busy browsing through your phone. Once you feel pain, put your gadget down and do some stretching, it might be sore due to looking down at your phone for too long. If the pain persists, maybe it’s time you go to Singapore chiropractic.
Seek Regular Chiropractic Care
This helps maintain proper alignment of your spine in order to prevent text neck from developing. Aside from that, regular visits to your chiropractor is great for early detection so that it doesn’t get worse. Expect posture improvement and nutritional advice, aside from spinal manipulations.
While chiropractic adjustment can't fix abnormal neck curves per se, it can help treat the reason why you developed that bad positioning of your cervical spine. This posture usually starts from always leaning forward to something, whether it’s a computer or a mobile gadget which overtime leads to your vertebra going out of alignment.
Exercise
Strengthening your neck muscles through exercises can help withstand abnormal stresses and reduce issues. Experts say swimming is a good option as it has therapeutic effects on neck pain. If that’s not working out for you, there are cheap chiropractic clinics in Singapore that you can consult with to finally know what’s wrong with your neck.
Pay Attention To Your Posture
Being aware of how you sit, stand, and hold your phone is great to avoid being in a strain position for an extended period of time. There are times when we don’t realize that we’re holding or phone too intensely or slouching while browsing. Those cases add up to the things that’s straining our necks.