Do you spend a lot of time texting, emailing from your phone or smart device, flicking through social media, or just generally looking down at your smart devices?
If your answer was yes, and you are suffering from acute neck pain, you may be experiencing Tech Neck. Tech Neck is a repetitive strain injury and one that is seen in a growing number of patients.
An increasing number of teens and adolescents are experiencing aggravating muscle pain in their necks, shoulders and occasionally their lower backs. This causes them to be in a lot of pain and they often experience headaches as a result of hunching over their smart devices.
Looking down and dropping your head forward changes the natural curve of your spine and neck. Repetitive misalignment causes muscles to strain and cause wear and tear on the structures of your neck.
If you are showing signs and symptoms of Tech Neck, the first and best thing you can do is improve your posture. We recommend using these two simple prevention methods:
- Look forward! Don’t tilt your chin down to look at your smart devices, try moving the device up towards eye level, just like your desktop screen should be.
- Straighten on up! If your posture isn’t perfect, try doing shoulder extensions. Arch your neck and upper back backward, pulling your shoulders into alignment under your ears. This simple stretch can alleviate stress and muscle pain.
The next step would be to book in for an assessment to really get to the root of the problem. We can recommend a series of exercises to help strengthen both your neck and back muscles and devise a treatment plan if needed.
If Tech Neck is preventing you from performing the activities you enjoy or if you believe the way you are using your phone places you at risk of developing neck pain in the future, come and see us at Back to Health Physiotherapy in Newport today!
