Text Neck: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Dr. Daniel is an Austin Chiropractor who specializes in treating neck pain caused by text neck.
Text Neck
Text neck is a condition specifically related to neck pain and damage caused by looking down at your cell phone, tablet, or other wireless devices too frequently and for too long. Austin Chiropractor Dr. Daniel specializes in treating neck pain caused by abnormal posture and text neck.
Looking down for excessive lengths of time promotes a forward head posture. Forward head posture causes damage to the ligaments, tendons, muscles and joints surrounding your neck. Of course, the posture of bending your neck to look down does not simply occur when texting. For years, we've all looked down to read, write and work at our desks. The problem with texting is that it adds one more activity that causes us to look down—and people tend to do it for much longer periods. It is especially concerning because young, growing children could possibly cause permanent damage to their cervical spines that could lead to lifelong neck pain.
Symptoms of Text Neck
Text neck is a very common cause of neck pain and soreness. For every inch forward that you carry your head, the weight carried down through the spine increases by approximately 10 pounds.
The excess weight places abnormal tension and stress on the structures surrounding the neck including muscles, ligaments, tendons and the intervertebral discs. The position increases the chances of having cervical spine strain/sprains, disc bulges and herniations and arthritis of the neck.
Symptoms of text neck can include:
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- Upper back pain ranging from a chronic, nagging pain to sharp, severe upper back muscle spasms.
- Shoulder pain and tightness, possibly resulting in painful shoulder muscle spasm.
- If a cervical nerve becomes pinched, pain and possibly neurological symptoms can radiate down your arm and into your hand.
Causes of Text Neck
Text neck is a very common cause of neck pain and soreness. For every inch forward that you carry your head, the weight carried down through the spine increases by approximately 10 pounds.
When in an upright posture, when the ears are aligned with the center of your shoulders, the weight of the average head exerts approximately 10-12lbs of force through the muscles of the neck.
But when your head is moved forward by one 1 inch, away from this neutral position, the weight of your head dramatically increases.
If left untreated, a ‘text neck' can lead to the inflammation of the neck ligaments, nerve irritation and increased curvature in the spine.
Text Neck Treatment
In most cases, text neck can be treated non-surgically and without prescription medications.
The main goal in treatment is to reduce the tension within the neck muscles, pain within your neck and address the postures that aggravate your symptoms.
After our Austin chiropractor has assessed your lifestyle, posture and your neck structures they will confirm the main issues causing your neck pain.
They will likely utilize a range of treatments including
- joint mobilisations
- posture correction exercises
- neck stabilisation exercises
- taping techniques
- soft tissue massage
- education
- acupuncture
Text Neck Treatment In Austin
If you live in the Austin area and are suffering, let Austin Chiropractor Dr. Daniel help you figure it out!
Here at Family Health Chiropractic, treatment of fatigue is only the beginning of how we can help you live a happy, healthier life.
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