Do you have Text Neck?

“Text Neck?” You may be asking yourself what exactly is “text neck.” Well, it is a relatively new term that is being used to describe what is happening to a person’s neck due to a new and advancing world of texting on cell phones and constantly looking down at tablets and laptop computers.  The more we are on these devices, the worse our health will become over time! How can this be?!

I want you to take a moment and look at the photo below. Notice how the woman’s head is coming very far off of her shoulders. The picture next to it shows what it looks like inside her spine…

So, here is the question of the day..What does this posture have anything to do with your overall health? Well, let me give you some interesting facts…

1. For every 1 inch (25 mm) that your head comes forward off of your shoulders, it is approximately 10 lbs of extra stress on the rest of your spine.  This can increase your risk for neck and shoulder pain, as well as headaches, migraines, TMJ, Carpal Tunnel and much much more!
2. According to Rene Cailliet, MD,  A Head in a forward posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment and  may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity. This is a unbelievable! How many people do you know that struggles with breathing or lung issues? Asthma, shortness of breath, COPD, chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, etc. How many of these people realize that their posture may be a contributing to their issues AND that if they were to correct their posture, it would remove their symptoms!
3. According to Don Harrison et al, a Forward Head posture and loss of Cervical curve alters the mechanical properties of the spinal cord and nerve roots. What does this mean to you? Your spinal cord and nerve roots are what relays messages from all the cells, tissues and organs in your body to your brain. If these messages are interfered with, you will have a miscommunication between your body and your brain and this will consequently affect your overall health and wellness.
4. A Forward Head Posture and Loss of Cervical curve places an unwanted stress on the spinal joints. According to Wolfs Law, a bone will remodel to the stress that is placed upon it. This means that as with an increased stress on the spinal joints, the disc in between the vertebrae will slowly degenerate and the body will remodel the bone, by adding more strong bone, to withstand that stress. This is what most doctors call Arthritis or Degeneration.
5. According to the Journal of Pain Management, “Posture affects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to hormonal production, spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture.”
6. A forward head posture places a chronic strain on the lower back muscles, causing chronic lower back pain.  We have seen this situation come into our office countless of times! We have had patients come to us complaining of lower back and hip pain, but when we do a postural evaluation and X-rays on their neck and lower back, their lower back is in great condition, but they have a forward head posture and loss of cervical curve. Correcting or improving this posture has been very successful in alleviating that lower back pain.

Can you now see why your posture is so important and why as Chiropractors, we urge you to correct your posture.

At our office, we specialize in a very specific postural corrective technique that can change this forward head posture and loss of cervical curve. We have seen very dramatic changes with our patients by simply changing their head posture. We have had patients who have had chronic migraines and headaches, no longer have headaches. Patients who have had difficulty sleeping and even had habits of sleep walking and sleep eating, no longer doing so! I mean these are profound, life-changing experiences these peoples have had! We are excited and honored to be able to provide such a valuable service to our patients.

Should you be interested in having an evaluation of your posture, to see if you are dealing with the symptoms of “Text Neck” please feel free to contact our office.

Stay tune for our next blog post as we will provide you with some great recommendations on how to prevent the damaging effects of “Text Neck” in you life.