Tips to avoid 'text neck'

PORTSMOUTH – Living in the age of constant connection by electronic devices has a lot of people literally developing a “pain in the neck.”

This 21st-century problem is being called "text neck," and it is a repetitive strain injury that is caused by hunching over smartphones and tablets.

As people become more tethered to their smartphones, physical therapists are seeing patients come in with muscle pain (cervical spondylitis) in the neck and shoulders and sometimes lower back.

It’s easy for an hour or longer to go by as people are constantly checking their phones or tablets for news, mail and visiting social websites like Facebook.

“The oddly angled neck and rounded shoulders strains the entire upper body,” said David Burchuck, a physical therapist and owner of Lighthouse Physical Therapy in Portsmouth and Dover.

“Looking down and dropping your head forward, changes the natural curvature of your neck,” he said.

Over time, this misalignment can strain muscles and cause wear and tear on the structures of the neck.

According to spine-health.com, a recent study showed that 79 percent of the U.S. population between the ages 18 and 44 have their cell phones with them almost all the time — with only two hours of their waking day spent without their cell phone in hand.

“We see complaints of stiff necks, carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical spine spasms and headaches from muscle tension,” Burchuck said.

And, according to a new calculation published in Surgical Technology International, the weight of the head felt by the spine dramatically increases when flexing the head forward at varying degrees.

An adult head weighs 10 to 12 pounds in the neutral position. As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck increases to 27 pounds at 15 degrees; 40 pounds at 30 degrees; 49 pounds at 45 degrees; and 60 pounds at 60 degrees.

Looking down at a smartphone with your chin to your chest can put about 60 pounds of force on your neck. This is roughly the weight of four adult-sized bowling balls.

Burchuck recommends setting the timer on the smartphone for 30 to 40 minutes, and when it goes off to get up and stretch.

“Posture is important and simply arching your neck and upper back backward and pulling your shoulders into alignment under your ears can help alleviate stress and muscle pain,” Burchuck said.

He also recommends doing wrist flexion stretches twice a day for 30 seconds. This can be done by placing your fingers on the desk or table and raising the wrists.

He said using a stylus could avoid texting thumb pain.

“If you can, raise the phone up to eye level,” he said. “You can also put an iPad or tablet on a stand.”

The same goes for your desktop computer. Your monitor screen should be at eye level so your head isn’t perpetually dropping and causing muscle strain. Laptops should also be at eye level.

There are text neck apps for Android smartphones.

Text Neck Indicator lets the user know when the phone is held at an acceptable angle for viewing by a green indicator light in the top corner of the phone.

The HeadUp app lets you know the weight pressure on your neck while using smart phone. This app is designed for the people who want to build a good habit of using a smartphone.

An app for the iPhone for text neck is not available yet.

#CervicalSpondylitis #CervicalSondylitisSymptoms

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How Sedentary Lifestyle Can Lead To Neck And Shoulder Pain

Ah! Everyone loves the financial perks that a 9-5 job brings to the table. Unfortunately, most of us don’t realize that this oh-so-comfortable schedule is killing our neck and back. Ever heard of the ‘Sitting Disease’? I am not making this up. It’s for real and the Women’s Health Magazine was the first to mention it about 5 years ago.

In a study conducted by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, nearly 6,300 people spent roughly 56 hours a week sitting in front of their computer screens. The results were shocking. Apart from weakening eyesight, this particular posture had nasty effects on the neck and back, for three main reasons – lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and poor exercise. 

No Exercise
With absolutely no or little movement, the body parts do become stiff. Hence, it is important to stretch or take a short stroll to keep yourself active physically. Even though it is difficult to get some exercise with a hectic schedule, it is highly recommended that you avoid simply sitting and staring at the computer screen. Physical movement is necessary for spinal stability, strong muscles and maintaining a correct posture.


Improper Diet

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A
 sedentary lifestyle means you put your diet on the back burner. Always remember that eating healthy helps avoid chronic back and
neck pain. An article in The Guardian stated that broccoli, in particular, slowed the progress of the most common type of arthritis.
A compound, in broccoli, known as Sulforaphane, is responsible for stopping the degeneration of cartilage in joints. Other dark green leafy vegetables should also be consumed to strengthen the bones. The best way to make sure you eat well is to make a diet plan. Eat salad regularly while working. That way you’re burning calories while working.
Lack of sleep

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It is difficult to concentrate on anything else but work when professional demands are high. A study by Arthritis Research UK claims that sleep is a major element that triggers persistent pain in the neck, hips and back.
Even the exact causes of the same are unknown, genes, weight, age and lifestyle are usually taken as the real culprits. Little or no sleep gives no rest to muscles and bones, leading to chronic pain in the neck and back.
As you can see, honouring your professional commitment doesn’t have to come at the cost of your work. Tiny steps, little measures, right choices, and an intelligent lifestyle can help you improve your health and keep the side effects of a sedentary lifestyle at bay.

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8 Bad Habits That Are Causing Your Back Pain, Number 6 Will Shock You!

Back pain is a chronic condition affecting a huge percentage of the population, it is estimated that back pain affects up to 80% of adults at some point in their life. Back pain can interrupt an individual's quality of life and 10 percent of all back pain sufferers end up with a significant disability as the result of the pain.

1. Old Mattress
The life span of a good mattress is approximately 8-10 years and if you have not replaced yours in over ten years, chances are you are doing damage to your spine. You want a mattress that is not too hard, and not too soft, it needs to support your back but still be comfortable enough for you to get a good night's rest.

2. Carry Heavy Bags
This one is particular common with woman but with the increase in men carrying laptops etc. in cases it affects anyone. Carrying a bag of any kind on one shoulder will cause you to be off balanced and cause your spin to curve. As a general rule of thumb a bag should weigh less than 10% of your body weight otherwise you most likely are doing yourself damage!

3. Poor Shoe Choice
Whilst stilettos and other forms of high heels get all the publicity, flats can be just as bad for you. Flats have a tendency to not support your foot correctly and force you to constantly adjust your foot in your shoe, distributing your body weight unevenly. Stilettos on the other hand force you to arch your back for balance putting unnecessary stress on your joints.

4. Sitting All Day
Bad news for the population that has desk jobs, sitting all day whilst it may feel nice at the time is very dangerous on your back, that is unless you maintain a proper posture 8 hours a day 5 days a week day in day out. Not having proper posture is not the only problem that office jobs can cause, sitting puts an extra 50% more pressure on your spin than standing does, ask your office about the option of a standing desk to help you build core strength and minimise the risk of long term injury, or if you must sit make sure you stand and stretch regularly.

5. Stress
Stress causes more than just grey hairs, it causes your whole body to subtly tense up and the muscles in your neck and back do not get a chance to relax.

6. Holding a Grudge
Research has shown that people who practice forgiveness have fewer feelings of depression, anger and physical aches and pains. When emotional your muscles tense causing the strength of your pain signals to be affected.

7. Lack of Exercise
Exercise builds strength and muscle tone, this decreased pressure means that your back and neck don't have to work as hard to support you and you minimise the risk of back pain. Core training exercises that strengthen your back and stomach are the best options.

8. Poor Diet
Not surprisingly weight gain and from a poor diet is one of the leading causes of back pain and can be detrimental for your long term health in many other ways. Some studies suggest that even a 5 to 10 percent drop in body weight can improve the condition of your back exponentially.

But the real remedy for spondylitis treatment ! This is SPONDIN DROPS
Unique production technology of BHARGAVA PHYTOLAB provides you SPONDIN DROPS an all-natural solution for Cervical Spondylitis  that will allow you to support the health of your neck and finally kick the pain jailer out of your life for good.

Unique ingredients list of SPONDIN DROPS: Colocynthis vulgaris,Ruta graveolens, Hypericum perforatum, Ledum palustre, Cuprum metallicum, Dulcamera and Conium maculatum.

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Texting invokes the same posture as holding a book Or a baby Or a rock.

Text Neck-the next American epidemic

With the advancement of technology, many lifestyle problem are arising ."Text neck" is one of them. "Text Neck" is the general and epidemic problem of this technology era. Text neck is the problem of looking down at your phone for long period of time completely mindless of your poor posture presentation. 

However, we cannot realize that simply looking down at our phones leads to headache, cervical spondylitis, respiration inefficiencies and even jaw pain. Cervical spondylosis is a disorder in which there is abnormal wear tear on the cartilage and bones of the neck (cervical vertebrae). It is a common cause of chronic neck pain . 

Main body part that is affected due to text neck is spine. Infact, approximately 50% of the population suffers from cervical spondylitis or headache . 70% of patient who present with headache also demonstrate cervical dysfunction. Various spondylitis symptoms appear due to wrong posture like pain in shoulder, neck and pain along the arm. 

With the advancement of technology, everything is becoming easy. We are globally connected via small device that fit in our pockets. Apps replaces personal assistant and reach  and we walk around with heap of songs in our pocket. And yet as  phones get smarter, our posture gets weaker. The biological sustainability of human being is declining at the speed of tech savvy era.

Posture correction of the cervical spine is indicated as treatment method of text neck, cervical spondylitis and headache. The correction of head posture can transform the quality of healthy life of patients who present with Text Neck. This is a matter of high concern  that requires complex attention.

Written by Renu - Sr. Executive PMT Bhargava Phytolab Pvt Ltd. 

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