One of the most prevalent cultural phenomena of recent years is that of texting. Everywhere you look, people are transfixed by the screens of their mobile devices, gazing intently into these all-knowing portals to the world.
And while they're gazing and their thumbs are furiously pounding out text after text, they're straining their cervical spines. There's even a trendy nickname for it – "text neck".
If you're a mobile user, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. When we're using our devices, we tend to look down at them, while holding them in our hands. This posture is what's responsible for the pandemic of text neck sweeping the nation. And why?
Because your head weighs between 10 and 13 pounds and the standard texting posture has that weight hanging from your neck – the home of your cervical vertebrae.
People with text neck don't usually know they have text neck. They come in complaining of acute pain in the upper back, tightness in the shoulders and sometimes, muscle spasms.
In the event a nerve in the cervical vertebrae has become pinched, pain and numbness may radiate from the neck and down one arm to the hand.
You may be surprised to read that text neck is being associated in recent studies with early onset arthritis of the neck.
I'm the last person to ask you to wean yourself off your mobile device. I'm as addicted to mine as you are to yours. But here's why I don't have text neck – spine-smart texting!
So, maybe I'm asking you to take a technology break, but only for brief periods of stretching and walking around. I'm also telling you that looking down at your device is the problem. That means holding the device up to your face.
Text neck is an easy enough problem to solve with some preventative measures. Whenever we're doing anything (the ancient habit of reading books, working at a computer, watching TV, driving) which causes us to look down for prolonged periods, we're doing our necks harm.
There's only so much punishment your cervical vertebrae can take, so give some careful thought to how you're treating them when you text. Adjust yourself accordingly and avoid the dreaded text neck.
If you're already struggling with text neck symptoms, don't panic! Back & Body Medical's award-winning multi-disciplinarian pain relief model is now available here in New Jersey, to treat them.
That's good news for New Jersey communities. At Back & Body, we're a team of medical professionals, working together to create individualized programs of therapy for all types of pain issues, with a special focus on the spine.
Practicing the disciplines of chiropractic, acupuncture, sports medicine and physical therapy, we're an integrated facility, providing a wide range of treatments.
Now that healing is close to home, we invite you to discover what our Manhattan patients have – the outstanding care at Back & Body Medical.