Sedentary lifestyles inevitably result in thousands of hours spent with your body resembling a human question mark—head jutting forward, shoulders are rounding and stomachs getting closer to your knees.
This Quasimodo-like posture has given rise to the smartphone-related cervical spine injury referred to as “Text Neck”. In this article, I’m going to go over how to prevent text neck symptoms in 5 simple steps.
Text Neck Symptoms and Forward Head Posture
Text Neck, also referred to as Tech Neck, is a repetitive use injury that occurs to your upper back, neck muscles, forearms, wrists, and hands caused by a combination of poor posture, excessive texting, and smartphone use.
Sustained forward head posture can overstretch and strain the neck muscles, leaving them feeling sore and inflamed. One of the most common text neck symptoms is a crick in the neck and upper shoulders. This can develop from…
- Over-stressing your neck muscles from excessive texting
- Awkward sleep positions
- Harshly twisting or turning your head during exercise
- Clocking hours of Quasimodo-like keyboard posture while hunching at your desk.
If left unchecked, text neck symptoms can potentially lead to pinched nerves, herniated disks, and even erase the neck’s natural curve.
The next time you slump your head forward to look at your smartphone, consider this…
The average head weighs approximately 10 pounds equal to that of a bowling ball, and as a person lets gravity take over, their cervical spine absorbs the brunt of that added weight.
For every inch the head moves forward in posture, it increases the weight of the head by a staggering 10 pounds?
So with that knowledge, when your head is held forward from your shoulders by only 3 inches, it causes approximately 42 pounds of pressure on your neck and upper back muscles.
Now that’s a potential for a 42-pound headache.
Yikes!
Text Neck and Rounded Shoulders
If you have Text Neck then it’s very likely that you have rounded shoulders.
Rounded shoulders cause your upper back muscles to overstretch and tighten the chest muscles.
This posture can potentially compress the brachial plexus, the network of nerves that originate in the neck and feed into the armpit region and down into the arms.
A brachial plexus impingement can lead to a number of problems, ranging from numbness in the hands to thoracic outlet syndrome or carpal tunnel-like symptoms.
5 Steps To Fix Forward Head and Prevent Text Neck Symptoms
Let’s begin.
Step #1: Bring Phone to Eye Level.
Instead of tilting your head down to the phone, bring the phone up to eye level.
This will reduce your forward head posture that can strain your upper back and neck muscles.
And stop using your shoulder to hold your phone up to your ear.
Also, try and alternate the way you use your phone. If you’re a righty, try using your phone on your left side every other time.
Step #2: Use a Hands-free Headset
To save yourself from straining both your neck and forearms by holding your Smartphone to your ear, depend more on a hands-free, Bluetooth Headset whenever you can.
Step #3: Chin Tucks and Wall Angels
Prevent Text Neck symptoms by strengthening your neck and back using the Chin Tucks and Wall Angels.
The Chin Tuck exercise can help reverse forward-head posture by strengthening the neck muscles.
This exercise can be done sitting or standing. Start with your shoulders rolled back and down.
While looking straight ahead, place two fingers on your chin, slightly tuck your chin and move your head back. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds and then release. Repeat 10 times.
Tip: The more of a double chin you create the better the results. If you’re in a parked car, try doing the Chin Tuck pressing the back of your head into the headrest for 3 to 5 seconds. Do 15 to 20 repetitions.
Wall Angels
Keep your feet about 4 inches away from the wall and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
Your glutes, spine, and head should all be against the wall as you bring the shoulder blades together and squeeze, forming the letter “W” with your arms. Hold for 3 seconds.
Now, raise your arms up to form the letter “Y.” Make sure not to shrug your shoulders to your ears.
Repeat this 10 times, starting at “W,” holding for three seconds, and then raising your arms into a “Y.” Do two to three sets.
More tips to cure a stiff neck
Step #4: Book a Massage
Ask your massage therapist to spend more time massaging the kinks out of your neck and upper back muscles.
Make sure they don’t forget about your overused forearms, wrists, and hands from all that excessive mousing or typing on the computer!
Step #5: Reverse Bad Posture Exercises
Prevent Text Neck symptoms by grabbing a copy of my book, Reverse Bad Posture Exercises.
The 21 exercises in Reverse Bad Posture Exercises are designed to fix forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and hunched back posture in just 15 minutes per day.
Take Reverse Bad Posture Exercises everywhere you go, and you can feel confident that you will be able to improve your posture and prevent traumatic neck, shoulder, and back pain episodes from wreaking havoc on your life.
Final Thoughts
Follow these 5 simple steps to help fix forward head posture and prevent text neck symptoms, so you stay plugged in pain-free.
Recommended Reading
Avoid These 4 Common Smartphone Injuries
11 Exercises That Will Help You Grow 3 Inches Taller
