Texting is a pain in the neck

Although we will try to deny it, the fact of the matter is, we love our phones.

We cannot help it. Ours is a romance of the electronic type, with an infatuation so dear that we hunch over the little screens the way a spy in a movie would hunch over his girlfriend to save her from an impending explosion.

But there’s a very real danger in our devotion, and it’s not in the form of impending explosions.

Our phones are wreaking havoc upon us, quite literally.

The problem arises from posture- specifically, how our heads lean forward when we use our phones or conduct other activities.

The average texting position is at a 60-degrees incline. Spending too long inclined that far can result in a condition known as “text neck.”

When your head is held upright, it weighs 10-12 pounds, but those 60 degrees can transform that weight into as much as 60 pounds. Think of the struggle in lifting just a heavy backpack, which can weigh about 20 pounds according to “The New York Times.” Now multiply that by three, and put it on your neck and shoulders. That would give a pretty accurate idea of what those 60 pounds mean.

“Every inch [forward] adds 10 pounds,” Toni Powers, licensed massage therapist and owner of Northwest Massage Center, said.

According to Powers, the human body is built to be able to hold quite a bit of weight on its shoulders. But bending forward forces back and neck muscles to tighten, and gravity’s added pull makes things worse.

This cannot be good news for the spine. In fact, according to Laura Sullivan’s Nov. 2014 NPR article on ‘text neck,’ teens may find themselves bent over for over 5,000 cumulative hours a year, which can only aggravate the situation..

Ouch. It’s no wonder the spine will start to go on strike, leading to wear and tear, and possible corrective surgeries down the road.

“The cervical and lumbar [parts of the spine] suffer,” physical therapist Robert Fleming said.

But cell phones are not the only thing teens should worry about when considering their posture.

“It’s not just cell phone use,” Fleming said. “Reading, writing, and using the computer a lot [can bring additional weight]. I used to see patients from Intel with neck and shoulder pain.”

Slouching forward during any activity causes additional harm to the shoulders. Fleming said that slouching while using a phone- or just while sitting down- causes the shoulder blades to tip forward, wearing out the tendons, the tissues that connect muscles to bones.

“There’s usually 1.6 mm between [the shoulder blades and the rib cage],” Fleming said. “Slouching reduces it to 0.8 mm. [That’s] about half the distance.”

Powers said overworking the neck muscles and shoulder blades can also lead to tension headaches.

All of these symptoms, however, are completely preventable.

Lori Massengale, a licensed massage therapist, said that to avoid these effects, people need to change their cell phone habits.

“[You] shouldn’t sit for more than an hour a day hunched,” Massengale said. “Keep it as short as you can.”

So don’t go to the extreme over your school desk, and try to avoid mimicking hunching like a secret agent. Ask Siri if you don’t believe me.

(For Sullivan’s complete NPR article, see http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-keep-your-head-up-text-neck-takes-a-toll-on-the-spine/)

#texting #Issue31415