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text neck
Text neck: Is Your Smartphone Use Causing Your Neck Pain?
You should know that “text neck” is not an official medical diagnosis. Instead, it’s a description of a repetitive stress injury from the way you hold your head while using a mobile device.
Text Neck Causes
Text neck, a.k.a. postural syndrome, 1 is a result of rounded shoulders and a forward head posture. When you’re in this position, muscles in the neck, chest, and upper back can become imbalanced due to prolonged forward head posture. Over time, this imbalance can make it difficult to maintain good posture.
A healthy cervical spine has curves that begin by gently curving forward from the base of the skull. A healthy spine then curves backward into the top of the chest/upper back. When the head drifts forward in poor posture, it causes an unnatural, forward positioning of the head and cervical spine. This creates additional stress on the inter-vertebral discs, vertebrae, and facet joints, which may accelerate spinal degeneration.
Text Neck Pain
Text neck isn’t limited to pain in your neck. Instead, you may feel pain in your upper back and/or your shoulders. You may feel like you’ve been stabbed or have intense pain in one spot, or you may feel sore over a broader region. For example, you might have pain spanning from the bottom of the neck and into the shoulder(s). In addition to upper back pain, shoulder pain and neck pain, you may also be experiencing headaches.
If you notice that your pain increases when your neck is flexed forward into the position that originally caused the problem, then that’s a sign that you may have text neck.
The stiffness resulting from text neck can reduce your mobility. Your neck, upper back, and shoulders may all experience tightness and reduced mobility. This reduced mobility can make driving dangerous.
Text neck can also cause headaches. These headaches are a result of muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders. This pain can then be referred from the neck and shoulders up into the head. Excessive amounts of time looking at screens, regardless of posture, may also increase the risk for eyestrain and headache.
Text Neck Treatment
Chiropractic care is ideally suited to treating neck pain, no matter what the cause. A careful patient history and physical exam can help to determine whether the pain and/or stiffness in your neck is caused by a repetitive stress injury.
If a more serious cause of your neck pain is suspected, such as nerve root compression, fracture, or a serious underlying medical condition, Dr. Danielle will order imaging, nerve conduction studies and other tests to confirm her diagnosis.
Schedule your appointment today by calling 855-509-5400.
Chiropractic Treatment of Poor Posture and Text Neck
Chiropractic treatment of poor posture and text neck is an effective approach for addressing both acute and chronic pain. 1
As the use of computers, long-distance driving, and mobile phone usage increases, maintaining proper posture becomes crucial. When individuals sustain poor posture over extended periods, they can develop postural syndrome, or postural dysfunction, leading to discomfort.
What is postural syndrome?
Postural syndrome is the result of prolonged time in poor posture. This posture includes head forward, shoulders slouched and the upper back arched for the upper body. For the lower body, poor posture is slouched forward while sitting or with the hips pushed forward when standing. This posture causes the muscles in the front of the body to become tight and the muscles in the back of the body to become stretched and weak. This poor posture can occur in many aspects of life, such as at the computer, gardening or cleaning.
If you are spending a large amount of your time with your arms stretched out in front of you (for example, holding your phone), then you are in a position that could lead to postural syndrome, a.k.a. text neck.
What are the symptoms of postural syndrome?
The symptoms of postural syndrome most often occur while the person is holding the problem position for extended periods of time. These symptoms are:
- Pain when the muscles of the upper back are pressed on
- Forward head carriage
- Muscle tightness
- Dull aching pain
- Burning pain in the upper back all the way up to the base of the head
- Headaches
- Muscle fatigue
How do you treat postural syndrome?
Chiropractic treatment of poor posture and text neck is an effective approach for addressing both acute and chronic pain.
- Gentle chiropractic
- Acupuncture
- Medical massage therapy
- Physical therapy
- Postural Taping
- Postural Exercises
- At home strengthening exercises and stretches
- TENS unit
- Ergonomic corrections
A key with postural syndrome is being aware of one’s posture; this is where postural taping is helpful.
If you are experiencing poor posture or symptoms of postural syndrome and wish to discuss your treatment options, please schedule your appointment by calling 855-509-5400.
