Avoid “Text Neck”
I read an article in which a healthcare practitioner referred to the growing number of neck-pain patients he was treating as having “Text-Neck”—brilliantly named, sir!
As a physical therapist, it’s my opinion that we’re about a decade away from seeing far greater ramifications of our generation’s head down connectedness to their hand-held mobile devices. The “phones” most of us carry are no longer something we merely hold to our ear, heads held high. In fact, that’s the least common posture their used in. Our cellular phones contain a world of possibilities—we simply can’t bear to look away!
Now I’ll be the first to admit that I, too, am guilty of repetitive phone checking, email sending, text receiving, Facebook® scrolling, information/fact finding, etc. However, as a former professor who taught physical therapy doctorate students how to diagnose and treat issues of the spine, I am very careful not to “overstay my welcome” in the land of neck flexion. You, too, need to be diligent about the head position you use when perusing your phone because destructive forces lie in wait for those who are unaware.
The first thing you’ll feel after your head has been hung forward for a long while is general neck muscle soreness/stiffness. Here’s why: Your head weighs in at about 6-10 pounds. When it’s bent forward at a 60° angle, its relative weight jumps to about 60 pounds! Now that’s an awful heavy load for your diminutive neck muscles to support.
Prolonged neck flexion is harmful to the intervertebral discs in your lower neck and upper back. Discs are similar to a jelly donut in structure, in that their centers are filled with a gel-like substance. When a forward-bent neck position is held for prolonged period of time, the gel portion will begin to migrate towards the back of the disc. This leads to internal disc breakdown presenting clinically as disc bulging or herniation, nerve impingement, and potentially, full blown spinal stenosis.
“Text-Neck” is absolutely avoidable. Practice lifting your phone to chest height and look down with a head-on-neck tilt (like a bobble-headed figurine might) rather than a neck-on-back hinge. Take frequent breaks to restore your upright head position so you neck can take a break, too!