Having neck pain constantly and spending a lot of time looking at your phone can cause pressure on your cervical spine.
Table of Content
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What is text neck syndrome?
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Symptoms of text neck
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Exercises to prevent Text Neck Syndrome
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Tips for preventing text neck
What is Text Neck Syndrome?
“Text neck” refers to the repetitive stress experienced in the neck due to looking forward and downwards in our phones. Looking at the phone or any other device for long hours may cause overload and stress on the joints and muscles in the cervical spine. This may lead to neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, back pain, and numbness in the arms.
Text neck is common across all ages, with a rise noted in children and adolescents.
Symptoms of Text Neck
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Headache: The tightness in the muscles at the base of the skull can cause headaches in the back of the head.
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Stiff neck: Another common symptom of text neck is stiffness around the neck and difficulty turning the head, especially after long usage of mobile devices.
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Pain in Shoulders: One may experience radiating pain in the shoulder blades, shoulders, or even into the arms.
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Eye Pain: Constant discomfort in eyes may occur due to text neck.
Text neck may impact the muscles and bones around your neck adversely. It may cause spinal misalignment, cervical spondylosis, nerve impingement, and permanent abnormal curvature.
Exercises to prevent Text Neck Syndrome
Listed below are a few simple exercises that could prevent text neck syndrome. These exercises are meant to relax the muscles and joints near your neck. If you experience pain while doing these exercises, consult your doctor immediately.
Pectoralis Stretch: Place your hand onto a door frame, upwards to your shoulder level. Then stretch forward till you feel a stretch in your chest. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat this three times on each side.
Chin tuck: Start in an upright sitting position and gently tuck your chin closer to your neck, as if you are making a double chin. Ensure your nose and chin are facing forward, not downward. Hold this position for 5 seconds. Repeat for 30 repetitions.
Scapular Retraction: Sit upright and tighten the muscles between your shoulder blades and gently squeeze your shoulder blades together; you should feel a backward stretch. Hold this position for 5 seconds and repeat 30 times.
Tips for preventing text neck
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Strictly limit time spent on handheld devices
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Try to maintain a healthy neutral head position.
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Hold the device at eye level when possible, and avoid looking downward.
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Take frequent breaks from screen viewing, and avoid spending hours hunched over your device.
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Doing neck exercises regularly may strengthen the back and neck muscles.
With advancements in technology and increasing digitalization, our handheld devices will continue to be an integral part of our lives. Hence, creating a threat of causing text neck. One must ensure to implement the above tips to prevent text neck. If you experience extreme discomfort in your neck and shoulder, consult your doctor.
