Is Your Smartphone Messing Up Your Spine?
Smartphones may have made our lives easier, but they have also bought problems that were not here earlier.
Forward Bend Syndrome also known as text neck or smartphone neck syndrome is a modern-day term that refers to the posture formed by leaning forward for extended periods.
This translates to cervical and shoulder pain, headache, and thyroid hyperkyphosis.
Text Neck Syndrome Symptoms
This stress on the neck occurs when you repeatedly stare down at your device for a longer duration to text someone or use social media.
The most common syndrome symptoms of Text Neck are neck pain, stiffness, and soreness. The other symptoms may include:
- Stiff Neck
- Radiating Pain
- Muscular Weakness
- Headache
How to Cure Text Neck Syndrome
Prevention is the cure when it comes to Text Neck Syndrome. You need to keep few things in mind when trying to avoid Text Neck Syndrome.
- Avoid excessive usage of electronic device
- Take frequent breaks when using electronic devices like cell phones for a longer period of time.
- Positioning of the device is important. If using the device for a longer duration, makes sure it is positioned directly on the eye level or above to reduce excessive forward bending.
- Avoid high repetitions of movements like typing
Exercise Posture to Avoid Text Neck Syndrome
Incorporate neck exercises in your routine such as:
- Forwards Bend
- Sideways Bend
- Backward Bend
- Restorative Exercises (to cure the upper traps)
- Serratus
Apart from these steps, you can include certain extra steps such as ice pack application and lukewarm oil massages to avoid any sort of pain.
