The 21st Century has brought about some ground-breaking technological advances. With the rapid changes in technology, our lifestyle also changes. Many of us spend long parts of our day looking down at a cell phone or tablet. This is putting much unnecessary stress on our bodies. We use the term “text neck” to describe this posture and increased incidence of neck pain.
Let’s think about this from a physics standpoint. If I were holding a 15-pound bowling ball (roughly the weight of our head), I would want to hold it as close to my body as possible. This reduces the energy my arms will have to exert to hold the bowling ball. Now, as I move the bowling ball away from my body, my arms have to work harder and harder to hold it up. They’ll eventually fatigue and ache.
The same thing happens with our heads. As we look down and forward, our neck muscles have to work much harder to hold the head up. This will eventually fatigue the muscles and create chronic neck and upper back aches. However, that’s not the only problem. Those muscles also travel up the neck and are inserted into the base of the skull. So, we can also see headaches as a side effect. Additionally, as the head drifts forward, it pulls on the nerves heading down the arm. The end product here can be numbness or weakness of the arm.
Just how much stress are we putting on these muscles? Every 1 inch forward is an additional 15 POUND of pressure (or another bowling ball). So, leaning that head just four inches forward is the equivalent of carrying around FOUR BOWLING BALLS! That is a lot of excessive stress on our muscles.
The Solution
The fix to these problems is to correct our posture. We want to begin by sitting up straight with a tall chest. Next, roll the shoulders back. Now retract the chin and ensure the head is above the body. This strong neutral position should help tackle some of the aches you may experience after a long day at the computer.
If you’d like more information on the topic of text neck, Physiopedia offers a great resource.
Whether seeking relief from chronic pain or simply aiming for optimal health, your Livonia chiropractor guides you every step of the way. Contact our office to schedule an appointment by Clicking Here or giving us a call today: 734-427-6333