This week I’m sending an addendum to an earlier post that I had sent out this year. It’s about your posture while you use your smart phone. Some kids are spending as much as 5,000 hours a year reading their cellphones, leading to chronic pain known as “text neck.”
I had sent out an email earlier this year about the downfalls of the ‘typical texting’ posture that all of us tend to take on. When we text, we are bent over, from the neck and hunching our shoulders over. I know that I am guilty of this, and I see hundred of people out there doing the same. Unfortunately, all of this posturing is causing some real problems in our necks and backs. As Chiropractors, we are seeing more and more young people coming in with neck and back pain. In this video, they are showing x-rays of a young girl who has the neck, of what I normally see, in a 50 year old patient with arthritis, neck pain, and arm and hand issues.
Proper Posture
- Keep your phone up at eye level (level with the horizon)
- Pull your shoulders back
- Keep your head up and looking forward while you read and respond to texts
This is something that I’ve been more aware of over the past couple of years while I was experiencing some neck issues. I realized, through this, how much I’m looking down and how much pressure that puts on my lower neck. I’ve been making an effort to look up, bring my phone up to eye level and keep my shoulders back. It is definitely an effort, but I do find that my posture is improving and I’ve had less neck pain over the past year.
Give it a try for 1 week and see if you start to notice a change in the stress and tension in your neck and upper back
With big hugs and wishes for glorious health for you and your families,
Dr. Arjan