Welcome to the future, we live in an era where we constantly check our smartphones. It has become a necessity and daily routine to look down on our phones. Imagine spending your life while sitting down or walking while hunched on smartphones, this can all affect our postures and can lead to poor postures. We then find ourselves feeling the stress on our neck, shoulders pains and can also affect our overall posture! This all can result in injury and make existing injuries, specifically to the lower right and back sore. With mobile usage becoming the norm, a new type of repetitive strain injury coined as “text neck” has emerged as the use of mobile becomes normal nowadays. Let’s find out how your smartphone can cause you back-pain and how we can combat the problem as we go.
How Do Smartphones Cause Back Pain?
With gravity, we won’t feel it. But the truth is, the human heady is quite heavy. It can weigh between 12 and 14 pounds, with that being in mind — did you know that the load that your spine is carrying while you are looking on your phone can equal as much as 60 pounds. Sounds pretty scary, right?
With that information, let’s add it all up to how your back suffers when you’re on your mobile phone. In a recent research study, an average person uses their mobile phones for two to four hours a day, with the teenager group it is sometimes doubled and tripled with those hours. So imagine all the strain your back and neck are going through with those hours. This weight is often felt on your cervical spine with your neck muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support your whole being. The poor posture that smartphone usage bring can cause problems for your neck, lower back, and shoulders and in severe cases, spinal issues could require surgery.
What Can You Do to Feel Better?
With all the information, this can help and be great. But what can you do to feel better and remove the strain from your spine? Here are some tips to follow to improve your overall posture.
- When using your smartphone, make sure that you bring it on an eye level. This can minimize the time your head will be tilted and will take the pressure from your spine.
- When using your phone for a call, an earphone with a built-in microphone can help. This will free up your hands and will allow your head to be upright for the time being.
- Make sure to take a break from phone usage, as consistent hunching is bad for your posture. If it is not avoidable, limit your session to minutes and rest in between.
What To Do When You Feel the Strain?
If you feel pressure on your neck, do not cause any further injury. There are several stretches that you can do to ease the discomfort:
- Seat Neck Release – this can be completed while being seated. Firstly, place your left hand on your left knee following with your right hand on your head, and slowly tilt your head to the right. You can switch arms around and apply pressure on the other side of your knee. Feel the pressure of the stretch so you can feel relaxed.
You can do different kinds of stretches at home. But remember, if you start to feel even more pain in your neck or spinal area, stop what you are doing immediately and contact your MyoFit Clinic if the problem persists.