Do I Have Text Neck Syndrome?

Text neck is a modern age term coined to describe repeated stress injury and pain in the neck resulting from excessive watching or texting on handheld devices over a sustained period of time. Text neck is a cause for increasing concern especially with children and young adults given their greater propensity to mobile phone/ device usage and is becoming a public health concern.

How Do You Get Text Neck?
What are the chances you’re reading this article from your handheld device, engaging in the serious but harmful position of text neck (head forward, shoulders rounded, and back slumped)? This position, also known as “text neck,” is a real epidemic.

People spend approximately five hours every day looking at their phones, which can lead to some serious text neck aches and pains, however, ditching our devices isn’t really an option. Instead, what we can do is make sure we exercise right and practice good habits to prevent the aches and pains associated with text neck.

Signs and Symptoms of Text Neck
 Instant upper back or neck pain when using a handheld device
 Nagging or sharp pain in the neck or shoulders at the end of the day.
 General shoulder pain and tightness.
 Intermittent or constant headache made worse when looking down or using the computer

Prevent Text Neck From Taking Over

1. Change how you hold your phone/Device
Bring the screen to eye level so your head is not slouched forward or too high. Instead, keep a neutral spine so your ear is in line with your shoulders. This will keep you from holding a forward-head posture for a prolonged period of time.

2. Take phone breaks
Frequent breaks from the screen can help, even if it’s just two to three minutes every hour. Getting rid of the habit of looking down is my first suggestion to preventing and alleviating tech neck, but that’s highly unlikely for most people. So instead, consciously take breaks from your phones. Set reminders on your phone or computer or use a sticky note, these small cues can make a huge difference.

3. If you experience prolonged pain, see a Physical Therapist
A physical therapist will help create an individualized plan given your symptoms and impairments and help alleviate your symptoms using modalities, manual therapy and education regarding proper mechanics. Also, Strengthening and stretching your muscles may help alleviate some of that nagging neck pain accrued from repetitive stresses brought upon by text neck.

Author

Dr. Oluwaseun Ambode, DPT Dr. Oluwaseun Ambode, MSR, DPT, got his bachelor’s degree in medical Rehabilitation (Physiotherapy Major) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria before proceeding to get a Master of Science in Rehabilitation and his Doctorate degree in Physical therapy from Loma Linda University, California. Dr. Ambode, DPT got into Physical Therapy after the Dean of the faculty came across his academic records and felt he would be a perfect fit in the Profession. The dean made a great pitch on the role of Physical Therapy in the healthcare team and was instantly bought into it without looking back ever since. Dr. Ambode, DPT’s journey with Reddy-Care Physical Therapy has been very fulfilling as he has had great experiences both doing In-home therapy as well as working at both clinics. Dr. Ambode, DPT has also had the opportunity to learn from very skillful and resourceful colleagues.