If you’ve been on the internet lately, you’ve likely read
about an emerging global health concern: text neck.
Text neck refers to spinal damage that occurs over time as
a result of bending down and forward to look at our mobile devices. At a fully
upright position, our neutral spine supports the head, which weighs about 12
pounds. As we bend down, this weight on our spine increases. According to the Washington Post and a forthcoming study in Surgery Technology International, “at
a 15-degree angle, this weight is about 27 pounds, at 30 degrees it’s 40
pounds, at 45 degrees it’s 49 pounds, and at 60 degrees it’s 60 pounds.”
Our spines were not designed to handle the increased weight
for prolonged periods of time, and experts say that as more people complain of
spine trouble, this early wear-and-tear shows:
“As you stretch the tissue for a
long period of time, it gets sore, it gets inflamed,” says Tom DiAngelis,
president of the American Physical Therapy Association. “It can also cause
muscle strain, pinched nerves, herniated disks and, over time, it can even
remove the neck’s natural curve.” DiAngelis likens the effect to “bending
a finger all the way back and holding it there for about an hour.”
On average, we are placing 700 to 1,400 hours of
technology-related hunching on our spines each year. Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, Chief
of Spine Surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, claims
that this spinal pressure might affect adolescents disproportionately as they
are among the heaviest consumers of technology.
For consumers of all ages, smart phones and tablets are an integral part of life. For RehabCare therapists who use iPads and
iPods every single day to track patient care using our SMART application,
mobile devices are indispensable. Fortunately, experts offer common sense strategies
to mitigate potential health consequences of text neck:
- Look down at your phone or tablet with your
eyes. It is not always necessary to bend the neck in order to view your screen.
- Exercise, advises Dr. Hansraj. Move your head from
right to left. Using your hands, provide resistance and push your head against
them – forward and then backward. Try standing in a doorway with your arms
extended, and push your chest forward to strengthen “the muscles of good
posture.”
- Reduce the amount of time you spend using your
device(s).