Neck pain is unpleasant and inconvenient. It can even make driving difficult. When your neck is stiff and achy, it’s hard to turn it to switch lanes or to see behind you to back out of a parking spot. In the past, neck pain has mainly been a product of poor posture and sitting hunched over a desk – but there’s another cause of neck pain and stiffness that might become the next orthopedic tsunami. What is it? Text neck!
What is Text Neck?
As the name implies, text neck is neck pain that comes from bending your neck toward your chest to look at a screen or send a text message. It’s not hard to see why this is a growing problem. Next time you dine out, notice how many people are hunched over their phones texting while waiting for their food. Then, take note of how their head and neck are positioned. Their head is likely hunched over to see the screen of their smartphone, placing their neck in an unnatural state of curvature. Holding this position for too long is a set-up for neck pain – and when you consider how many hours a day many people look at a handheld screen, you can see why smartphones will be the next major source of income for orthopedists. Combine this with sitting most of the day at a desk and it’s easy to see why many people’s necks are aching.
What you might not realize is how much stress bending your head down places on your spine. Your head weighs about 12 pounds. As you lower your head, the force on your spine increases. At the midpoint, it’s around 40 pounds and when you place your chin almost down to your chest, the force your head places on your neck increases to 60 pounds! Needless to say, that’s a lot of force on your neck and spine. If you text or look at your smartphone a few hours a day, the impact of that force is multiplied. Over time, you get added wear and tear on your spine and are at higher risk for disc herniations as well. On a short-term basis, holding your neck down for hours stretches the tissues and causes them to become inflamed – and you end up with neck or upper back pain and stiffness.
Also, holding your head and neck in an unnatural position causes the muscles to tighten and spasm, creating a nagging discomfort that can become chronic. Plus, tightness in your neck can trigger headaches as well. Even more concerning is the fact that kids who bend their head down to text frequently can develop an abnormal curvature of the spine.
Preventing Text Neck
By now, you’re probably wondering what you can do to save your achy neck. For one, take a break from your phone. On average, people spend 3 hours a day looking down at their smartphone. Multiply that by 365 days and then think about that extra force. That’s a lot of cumulative stress on your neck! If you can cut your phone time down to half, you’ve halved the amount of extra weight you force your neck to deal with on a daily basis. Another way to reduce damage is to position your head and neck differently when you look at your smartphone. Hold your phone higher and use your eyes to look down without bending your neck. It takes practice to make this a habit but your neck will thank you.
Also, make sure your desk set-up at work is ergonomically friendly. Few people’s necks can handle poor posture at the office followed by the impact of using a smartphone afterward. Be aware of your posture, both when sitting at a desk and when using your smartphone. Most people bend their head and neck down almost to their chest, creating 60 pounds of added force. Train yourself to keep your neck straighter while using your phone. It’s not just smartphones that are a problem. You bend your neck unnaturally when you use other devices, including e-readers and computer tablets.
Strengthening Your Neck Muscles
People who don’t exercise are more likely to suffer from text neck. You can lower your risk by strengthening the muscles in your neck and upper back. If you strength train, you’re already doing exercises that strengthen your upper back. Keep doing them. One of the best ways to strengthen your neck muscles is to work your neck muscles using your hands as resistance.
Start with resisted neck flexion. Place your hands against your forehead and flex your neck forward as your hands resist the flexion. Then, do lateral neck flexions against resistance on each side. On the right, place your right hand just over your right ear. Flex your neck to the right while using your hand as resistance. Repeat on the other side. You can do these exercises when you’re sitting at your desk as well.
These are isometric exercises but you can also strengthen your neck with dynamic exercises using resistance. One of the best exercises for strengthening the trapezius muscle in the upper back is shoulder shrugs using dumbbells or a barbell. Dumbbell lateral raises and barbell rows are other exercises that target the trapezius to build strength in the upper back.
Stretch and Relieve the Tension
When you’re at work, stop every 30 minutes to stand up and stretch. Then, do a few minutes of neck and shoulder rolls to relieve the tension of holding your head fixed and sitting in the same position for too long. Do this after using your smartphone as well.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the best approach is to cut back on how often you use your smartphone or, at least, hold it higher so you don’t have to bend your head to see the text. You can also do an online search for text neck apps. These apps will warn you when you’re holding the smartphone in a position that places stress on your neck.
References:
Science Daily. “Texting Becoming a Pain in the Neck”
Summit Orthopedics. “Tips To Fight “Text Neck” With Proper Posture”
Related articles By Cathe:
The 3 Most Common Posture Problems and How They Jeopardize Your Health
Straighten Up! How Your Posture Impacts Your Health, Well-Being, and Training
Are Cell Phones Making People Less Fit?
How Your Joints Age & What You Can Do to Slow It Down