Tech Neck
In the time it would take you to finish reading this, you have almost certainly gotten or sent more than one text or email. Over the course of a single day, more than 4 billion people around the world will send almost 19 billion text messages.
As with many other technological advances in today’s fast-paced world, all of this time spent sending and receiving texts and emails comes at a price. In this case, it’s a painful phenomenon, mainly affecting the neck and shoulders, which has become known as Tech Neck. What causes this painful condition, what are its symptoms, and how can it be treated?
Tech Neck happens when people spend too much time with their head and neck extended too far forward over their body while looking at a computer screen. It can also happen when people repeatedly tuck their head down over their chin and hunch their shoulders while sending or receiving text messages on a cell phone.
At 0 degrees of head tilt (neutral neck) your head weighs about 12 pounds. As you can imagine, the further forward the head tilts and the neck bends, the heavier the head becomes. By 30 degrees of head tilt your head weighs 40 pounds. By the time your head is at 60 degrees, it weighs about 60 pounds. It’s just like holding a small child on your shoulders. This puts stress and pressure not only on your neck and shoulders but your entire spine ends up shifting to compensate, causing problems in your mid and lower back as well. Imagine the prolonged effect all of this pressure has on your spine!
5 Surefire Signs of Tech Neck:
- Pain in the Neck
- Upper Back and Shoulder Pain
- Headaches/Increased Stress
- Numbness & Tingling in the Arms and Hands
- Blurry Vision/Difficulty Concentrating (“Brain Fog”)
Over time, chronic pain, altered muscle lengths, and even progressive arm weakness, nerve damage, joint inflammation, degenerative disc disease, and postural abnormalities can occur.
Call us if you believe your cell phone or computer use is causing you any of these symptoms. We offer natural solutions to help you start feeling better and be smarter about your use of smart technology. Chiropractic care has been proven to effectively treat painful conditions affecting the neck, spine, or back, as well as restore optimal health and function of the body.