Have you ever had the thought that talking to your loved ones may be causing you pain, and not just in the emotional sense. Picture yourself sitting there having a fun conversation over text talking about your day, your plans or just joking around to have fun and kill time. Now picture your posture while you're sending that text. Is your head leaned slightly forward, looking down at your phone to see the screen?
If you straightened up your shoulders and sat a little taller at just the mention of posture then you are likely suffering some effects of "tech neck." A technology driven condition that is becoming more common as hand held electronics improve their capabilities, become cheaper and are incorporated into many businesses. We are seeing them at home, at work and in our leisure time... and seeing too much of them altogether.
In fact mobile carriers tell us we're spending about 90 minutes a day on our phone. That's one and a half hours with our head forward and down slightly. How often do you go to the gym and work out a single muscle group for that long? If you are like the majority of us, not often. Now, how many of you spend 90 minutes a day performing exercises just for the neck to counteract the damage you are doing?
Maintaining proper posture while using our tech devices is crucially important to maintaining a health spine, reducing headaches, and improving overall function and health. As your head moves forward from its neutral and upright position, the stress to our neck and upper back increase exponentially. Add in a sedentary lifestyle and a desk job and you've got instant problems. Hours a day spent in the same position which may lead to arthritic changes, disc degeneration, nerve impingement and more.
At Allen Family Chiropractic we encourage you to communicate openly with everyone around you, but do it with a health conscious mind. Take steps to help prevent muscle strains from overuse. Ever felt that burning or aching sensation in your neck and shoulders as you sit there? That's not supposed to be there. Be active in your life and in your health. Come see us today to get you back on track and rid yourself of "Tech Neck."
We don't have to "twist and pop" anything to show you how much chiropractic care can help eliminate these type of issues. Simple mobilization techniques and some corrective rehab may be all you need, but starting now is better than waiting until it's too late.