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4 Tips to Help Relieve the Pain of Text Neck

Written By Pines West Chiropractic on November 30, 2017

What's "text neck"? If you're reading this on a mobile device, you may be suffering from it. Text neck is an increasingly common condition that develops when you keep yourself in a hunchedover position for a long period oftime -like you typically might when you're using your smartphone to text friends, check email, or play games.

While it may register as a minor pain now, if left untreated, it could result in significant daily pain and perhaps even damage to your spine.

Heavy Is the Head that Views the Phone

We' re all a little thickheaded -literally. The average adult head weighs about 10-12 pounds. When you look down at your phone's screen, your head drops in front of your shoulders, which forces the muscles in your neck and upper back to work harder to hold your head up.

4 Ways to Avoid Damage from Text Neck

Over time, text neck could eventually lead to pinched nerves and herniated discs. Fortunately, here are four things you can do to avoid it.

1. Get chiropractic care for text neck.

Maintaining your spine's alignment through regular chiropractic care can help with many health conditions, including text neck. Call us today at (954) 432-3343 to speak with a chiropractor.

2. Take a break.

As much as we love our phones, it's a good idea to put them down after a while and engage in real conversation. If you absolutely need to stay connected for a long stretch, try switching to a desktop or laptop for a while to give your neck some relief.

3. Do some simple neck exercises.

You should regularly stretch your neck muscles and vertebrae (the cervical spine). There are a number of easy and effective stretches you can do at your desk, in the shower, or while watching TV.

4. Tell your phone to keep you honest.

Believe it or not, there's an app for that. Several apps for Apple and Android phones provide guidance on using your phone while minimizing neck pain. Simply go to your phone's app store and search for "text neck."

Keep Your Chin Up

By following these tips and getting regular chiropractic care for text neck, you'll help make sure your phone usage is pain-free. (Well, except for your friends' embarrassing Facebook posts. We can't help you there.)


Posted In: Chiropractic Neck Pain