A Text Neck is not easy to correct after you develop it…. but you can prevent it!
I even had a stand made to raise my computer so I don’t have to look down… the center of my screen is eye level! Now I can keep my back straight…you can too.
I was reminded of a blog I wrote a few years ago about what happens when people spend so much time at a computer with their heads bent staring at the screen. That was just after I had a platform constructed for my PC’s monitor so that it would be at eye level and I could improve my own posture and prevent future neck and back problems.
I recently observed two young girls in a restaurant texting. They were both very intense into it, their phones held in their hands resting on the table, thumbs flying, and their heads bent, chins almost resting on their chests.
Oh no, I thought, those girls are going to suffer from “Text Neck,” a malady caused by frequent texting with heads bent much more than the computer screen syndrome of six or seven years ago and fostered by such wonderful advancements in the quality of smartphones.
It seems that everywhere you look these days, people’s heads and necks are bent down toward their tiny machines. So, I’m writing now to call your attention to the dangers of “Text Neck”, a condition caused when you frequently lean over to check your text messages or use your tablet computer. This terrible posture can lead to Degenerative Disc Disease, Degenerative Joint Disease, Headaches, Back Pain, and even a reduction in the diameter of your airway, making breathing difficult.
The average adult head weighs ten pounds. BUT, now this is scary, for every inch forward your head bends, TEN POUNDS of weight are added that the muscles in your neck and shoulders must deal with. Imagine, if you bend your head forward by two inches, it’s like adding two bowling balls to your head.
Listen, it’s not only smartphones and computers that are the cause of such symptoms, although they’re culprits that facilitate and exacerbate poor posture, normal forgetfulness is also to blame.
Look around you at people standing at a party or walking down the street. Notice how many of them hold their heads bent forward, so that, when they’re standing up straight, their ears are no longer in line with their shoulders. It’s easy to calculate in your mind how many “bowling balls” they’re carrying around on their heads.
So, I urge you to be careful, and check your posture constantly. Stand up straight and ask a person in your life to check your posture to see how far your ear is in front of your shoulder. And make sure you’re not rounding your shoulders, too. If you have low back and/or neck pain and your posture looks anywhere near the letter “C”, it’s time to do something about it.
Even if you’re not suffering any pain right now, you will. So, HEADS UP!
