Text Neck Syndrome

Chiropractors are reporting more cases of strain than ever before.  Commonly referred to as text neck, resulting from the overuse of today’s tech such as cell phones or tablets.  I often squirm when observing guests using their cell phones at my office.  They all tend to mimic this horrifying posture:

  • Flexed at the hip
  • Hunch-backed
  • Staring down at their mobile device (sometimes just inches from the screen)

I jokingly say that it’s just a matter of time before our bodies merge with technology and we transform into robo-humans.

Ideal Posture

First, allow me to clarify that I’m excluding individuals who suffer from specific spinal conditions.  Our spines are generally capable of handling certain loads and stresses without injury.  If not, we would all be suffering from some form of spinal damage each time we carried something heavy or engaged in activities requiring us to be in less than ideal postures.  However, this doesn’t mean that repetitive movements don’t have a detrimental effect on our spines long-term.  Rather that we are built to take on high amounts of physical stress.

Due to gravity, our bodies constantly endure downward stress on our spines.  This usually occurs without injury every day.  There is an argument to be made about what the “ideal” posture is to minimize the amount of stress on our spines.

For the purpose of this article, it’s important to note that the ideal curvatures of the spine are based on theoretical models that are published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. (1)

Click here for Exercises to Help Improve Your Posture.

How To Evaluate Your Posture

There are two simple ways to visualize your posture at home; the side and front.  From the side, draw a line (often called a plumb line) connecting your ear to your shoulder joint (AC joint) to the hip, knee and ankle.  Observe how these landmarks fall in line.

Next, observe your posture from the front.  Note any deviations left or right that you notice if you were to draw a line splitting your image in two through the middle.  Anything falling outside of the line would be considered “out of alignment”.  A health professional would analyze the effect that your posture has on your musculoskeletal system.

For more information consult a Chiropractor or Physical Therapist to have your posture assessed for a more detailed analysis.

Physical Proof

Research has been published on the health consequences associated with poor spinal or postural alignment.  Thoracic kyphosis (hunch-back syndrome) for example, has been associated with the following health concerns (2):

  • Impaired physical function,
  • Pain and disability,
  • Impaired pulmonary function,
  • Increased mortality

As a practicing chiropractor, I have seen first-hand the clinical benefits of reducing excessive curvatures in my office.  Patients who had their mis-alignment addressed have reported less aches and pains, improved breathing, better sleep, and overall improved physical function.

What Texting Does To Your Neck

How ‘Text Neck’ Affects Your Spine

As your head leaves the plumb line it effectively weighs more.  The effective head weight in some individuals can result in it weighing as much as 60lbs more than their natural head weight!  Can you imagine the consequence over time of that posture on our bodies?!  This leads to an increased demand on the soft tissues of your neck and back to hold the head in a forward position for an extended amount of time.

Obviously, limiting the amount of forward and flexed head posture to shorter duration’s helps to minimize the stress on your body.  Since our spines are resilient, it is able to withstand these movements under normal circumstances as stated earlier.  Otherwise, we would all be suffering from neck and back pain every time we used our mobile devices.

Reality Of Technology

This is the point at which we may start feeling the effects on our bodies.  Strain on our muscles, joints, discs and eyes are entirely possible if we are using technology for most of the day.  It’s also possible that we will ultimately feel the strain after having our head forward and flexed for a long period of time.  In my opinion, this is a learned behaviour and as such can be unlearned.  Therefore, try to limit your exposure to mobile devices for short periods of time.

But the reality is that technology and the applications that we are accessing on our mobile devices are highly addictive.  This causes us to keep our heads glued to our phones or tablets for an extended period of time.  Many cell phone manufacturers now include a timer with the newest operating system update in order to detail the amount of time you spend on your phone.  I would argue that these companies knew all along just how addictive their products were, as it was built into the design.

Posture Test

Tips To Implement Change

  • Limit your use of cell phones to help protect from text neck.
  • Pay attention to the metrics of phone use and see where most of your time is spent.
  • If social media is the culprit, assign a specific time during the day that you will check your news feed.
  • Get out of the habit of feeling “FOMO” (fear of missing out) when checking social media.
  • Set the notifications on your device to OFF no matter how many times the app reminds you to do otherwise. This way the device doesn’t rule over you and you avoid constantly checking your phone each time you receive a Like, Share, or Comment on social media platforms.

If after trying all these tips you still find yourself in pain, consult with a health professional trained to address your concerns. See a Chiropractor!  The master system controlling all your body’s function and healing is your nervous system.  It controls all your muscles, cells, glands, organs, and tissues.  Removing interference to your nervous system and addressing the underlying cause of your problem is the only way to truly heal.

Click here to learn more about your Nervous System – What Conventional Medicine Doesn’t Want You To Know.

 

References:
1. https://idealspine.com/cbp-research/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26378354

Chronic Neck Pain Solutions

Neck pain is a common symptom suffered by the worlds population.  Studies have shown that in general, women suffer chronic neck pain more than men. (1) Literally everyone I know has experienced neck pain in their life at one point or another.  Believe me, they make it known to me at social outings.

However,  this story is about me and a nagging case of pain in the lower left side of my neck of 2 months duration.  Just typing out that sentence brings me back to that uncomfortable feeling.  Every day I woke up with this feeling and it never really went away.  I tried everything from massage to exercises and even multiple chiropractors.  Of all three interventions, I found certain chiropractic adjustments to be the most successful in eliminating the pain.

chronic neck pain

Daily Routine, Daily Neck Pain

Just like the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray, I would go to sleep, wake up and go through the pain all over again.  What a nuisance!  It wasn’t debilitating as I could still function rather well.  Anyone, reading this right now who has been in my position knows precisely what I’m writing about.  I’m sure it resonates with many readers.

People assume that since health professionals deal with these musculoskeletal problems daily with their patients, we take heed of the advice we provide.  In this case, I missed a very important question I ask my patients or they ask me during their care.

What Position Do I Sleep In To Avoid Chronic Neck Pain?

Typically, most individuals sleep in one of three positions.  On their back, side, or on their stomach.  I’d prefer patients sleep either on their back or on their side as it may cause the least amount of stress on your back.  Stomach sleeping appears to put the most strain on your back and neck so it’s the least desirable of the three sleeping positions.

Proper sleeping positions - Dr. Nenos on Hamilton Life

What Kind Of Pillow Should I Use?

The pillow market is saturated with options.  There is a variety of pillows out there that I could write a whole paper on the topic.  However, I would rather tell you how to choose the right pillow for your sleeping position.

Back Sleep Position

If you are sleeping on your back, you require a very thin pillow or no pillow at all. The reason behind this recommendation is that your spine needs to be in “neutral position.” Using a large pillow or several smaller pillows for example, would move your spine away from neutral into a flexed position and thus may cause strain.

A neutral spine is the natural position of the spine when its three curves (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) are in proper alignment.  This is a very stable position for the spine to be in.  When it deviates away from neutral it can apply pressures to parts of the spine that may result in pain and discomfort.

Side Sleep Position

If your desired sleeping position is on your side, which happens to be my preferred sleeping position, a proper pillow keeping your neck in neutral position with another pillow in between the knees is ideal.  Here is a video demonstrating this side sleeping position with proper pillow support.

Stomach Sleep Position

Stomach sleeping places the most stress on the spine. However, a number of patients have expressed to me that it is the only position they are able to fall asleep in. Having uninterrupted sleep is important and vital for proper body functioning. I talk about the number of hours you need to achieve that in this TV segment.

Sleep deprivation is a serious problem affecting many people.  If sleeping on your stomach is the only position that allows you to fall and stay asleep, then I recommend placing a pillow under your stomach to minimize the pressure placed on your back.  If you want more tips,  click here to read Bedtime Woe’s? – 5 Simple Tips For Blissful Zzzz’s.

How To Find The Right Pillow - The Pillow Test

The Solution For Chronic Neck Pain

As chiropractors, we are tasked with finding the cause of a complaint and not necessarily treating the symptom itself.  In my case, I made the mistake of searching for symptom relief thus forgetting the fundamental principle of locating the cause of the problem that you are treating.  Chiropractors as well as manual therapists can help people address problems like this.  If you’ve tried to alleviate the pain on your own with little to no success, seek out help as we may be able to discover the cause of the irritation.

My clinic sells water-based pillows that allows the pillow to adapt to shifting sleeping positions.  Personally, I find this very beneficial for people that move around in their sleep.  Have you ever fallen asleep in one position and woken up in an entirely different position or part of the bed?  This type of pillow may be of help.

Water-based pillows are associated with reduced morning pain intensity, increased pain relief, and improved quality of sleep according to a study. (2) For more information you can visit my website and contact my office.  To watch a video on how to pick the perfect pillow, click here!

What Was The Solution To My Problem?

My pillow was too high for my neck position.  How could I forget! I  had placed too much water in the pillow which had shifted my neck position from neutral to a side-flexed position.  Add 6-8 hours of sleep in an awkward position and of course you will wake up with chronic neck pain every day!  Since correcting for that error and continuing to see my chiropractor regularly the change was almost instantaneous.

I hope you learn from this common and simple solution to waking up with neck pain.  For more information, click here for my  Top Ten Tricks To Get The Best Sleep EVER!

Reference:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489448/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9041902