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Text Neck: How Chiropractic Care Can Help

Written By Pro Care Health Center on October 25, 2017

“Text neck” is a new buzzword in healthcare, and there’s a good chance it’s causing you pain right now. It’s an increasingly common condition that develops when you keep yourself in a hunched-over position for a long period of time – like you typically might when you’re using your smartphone to text friends, check email, or play games. 

Perhaps it’s only a minor discomfort at the moment, but if left untreated, it could result in significant daily pain and perhaps even damage to your spine. Fortunately, chiropractic care can help.

What’s the Cause?

Imagine you’re holding a bowling ball. Now picture yourself swinging it around in your arm a few times. Well, that’s your head. The average adult head weighs about 10-12 pounds. So, your neck has the unenviable task of keeping a bowling ball on your shoulders for most of the day. 

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 up that bowling ball of a head. It becomes a problem because that strain goes against the natural “reverse curve” of the vertebrae in your neck. Eventually, text neck can lead to pain, headaches, pinched nerves, and herniated discs. 

What Can I Do?

Fortunately, there are a number of actions you can take, in terms of both treatment and preventative steps.

Get chiropractic care. 

Regular chiropractic care can help with many health conditions, including text neck. Your chiropractor is an expert on the alignment of your spine and the interaction of your muscles and skeleton. Typically, discomfort from text neck and other spine issues develops over time, so treatment can also take time. However, if you make the commitment and follow your chiropractor’s recommendations, you can find relief. Call us today at (407) 851-0980 to speak with a chiropractor.

Put down the phone.

Give your neck some relief and put down your smartphone after a while. Not only is it good for your spine, it’s nice to look up occasionally, see what’s around, and engage in conversation.  If you feel you absolutely need to stay connected for a long stretch, then hold your smartphone in a neutral pose at eye level, instead of looking down. Better yet, try switching to a desktop or laptop to give your neck muscles time to relax. 

Stretch your neck.  

Speaking of your neck muscles, you can treat them well with several easy and effective stretches for both the muscles and vertebrae. You can do most of them at your desk or while sitting on your couch.

What’s the Outlook?

By following the advice here and getting regular chiropractic care for text neck, you’ll help make sure your smartphone use is truly smart. 


Posted In: Chiropractic Neck Pain Treatment