Is your phone a pain in the neck?

I was struggling this week with what to write about until an incident on the way to the gym earlier prompted me to highlight something which I'm sure we've all encountered, namely the ipod/iphone/smartphone obsessed individual who cannot go more than a single step without having to have their head glued to the screen to the detriment of all those around them.  

Today I had to pull up sharply as a guy, looking at his screen, despite me ringing my bell and shouting at him to look where he was going completely walked across my (cycle) path, oblivious to my prescence.  As I nearly flew over the handle bars, was he aware I was there?  Nope, still engrossed in a game of Angry Birds or what ever he was looking at.

But we see this all of the time, people walking into each other as they are "Screen glued", walking out into oncoming traffic, I've witnessed too people walking out in front of trams, and don't get me started when they are plugged into headphones too.  As ignorant as this behaviour is and how arrogant these individuals are in assuming the rest of the world is going to look out for them, as a therapist I dismay at the damage this continual activity is doing to peoples necks and general posture.  Screen glue or as the media describe it as "text neck" is a growing epidemic with a potential of damaging our bodies permanently.

The posture we adopt when we look at our screens increases the stress on our necks and can cause excessive wear and tear.  Our heads weigh between 10-12 pounds, as we angle our heads to look at the screen, the weight placed on the head to maintain an angle of viewing can, at most, place an additional weight of 60lbs onto the neck! We are also increasing our risk of headaches, difficulty in breathing and general back pain.  Take a look at the graphics 


People don't realise how often they are looking at their phones or for how long, and are oblivious to the damage they are doing.  This isn't the first time our mobile devices have been the cause of physical distress to our bodies;  some years ago, gp's were seeing a rise in finger/thumb injuries due to patients constantly typing on their blackberry phones resulting in repetitive strain.  Reports have also highlighted "iphone/pad" hand from repetitive swiping of the screen.  The US (and after today, I'm sure the UK) has seen an increase in pedestrian deaths from people being too engrossed in their technology to look what they are doing.

Performing neck and chest stretches on a daily basis can help release some of the stress placed upon the neck and shoulders.  I could suggest spending less time looking at your screen (yeah right!) or adjust the angle at which you view it.


In response to this problem, my upper body/back/full body massages now include more neck and shoulder stretches with an effective stretch to the cranium too to reduce strain and incidences of headaches brought on by stress, physical and mental.  Try it for yourself the next time you book in.

 
 synergy_therapies@icloud.com