Text Neck Syndrome A Painful Gift Of Technology

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Text Neck Syndrome A Painful Gift Of Technology

TEXT NECK SYNDROME A PAINFUL GIFT OF TECHNOLOGY

Dr. Darshita Panchal(PT) – Physiotherapist

Rhythm Heart Institute, Vadodara

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 hand held devices over a sustained period of time.It is also often known as Turtle Neck posture.Text Neck is affects neck posture due to excessive use of Smart phones in wrong posture.It is a cause for increasing concern especially with children given their greater propensity to mobile phone usage.

What Are The Symptoms?

Stiff neck with soreness usually present when trying to move the neck after long usages Eye ache
Dull aching or sharp or stabbing pain usually in lower part of neckwith radiation into the shoulders and arms (If a cervical nerve becomes pinched)
Muscular weakness and spasm: upper back and shoulders muscles(trapezius, rhomboids and shoulder external rotators are often weak)
Headache: sub-occipital muscle tightness can lead to tension type headaches.

In Extreme Chronic Cases It Can Lead To:-

Increased curvature of the spine
Flattening of thoracic kyphosis
Early onset arthritis)
Spinal degeneration
Disc compression
Loss of lung capacity

REHABILITATION MATHOD:-

Rehabilitation is found to be very effective in treating the stress injury resulting from Text Neck. Rehabilitation can be designed as a 2-4 week program. In acute cases, pain relief is the main goal. It can be achieved by Active and passive stretches of tight muscles of neck and shoulder to improve blood flow and relieve tension, Muscle strengthening, soft tissue mobilization, Grade 1 and 2 joint mobilization, Ice/heat packs, Massagetherapy, Cold laser therapy, Posture retraining and home exercise program

PREVENTION, WHICH IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE:-

Following suggestions should be kept in mind while using smartphones or other hand held devices:-

Raisethe phone:-

Position the device such that it reduces stresses both on the head/neck and the upper extremities.
Move the cell phone (and other devices) to eye level so the head doesn’t have to be tilted.

Take frequent breaks:-

Spend some time away from the phoneor any type of head-forward posture.
Change positions when texting(lying on one’s back is an excellent way to relieve neck pressure.
Avoid high repetitions of movements such as prolonged typing or swiping.
Avoid holding large or heavy devices in one hand for long duration.

Stand up straight:-

Avoid prolonged static postures
Good posture:-with the shoulders pulled back, keeps the body aligned in a neutral position.

Arch and stretch:-

Arch the neck and upper back backward periodically to ease muscle pain.
Tuck the chin down toward the neck, then slowly raise it up toward the ceiling.
Rotate the head so that it is looking out over one shoulder, then turn slowly and rotate in the other direction.
Rotate the shoulders in a clockwise direction while holding the arms down by the sides of the body, repeat in a counter clockwise direction.

STAY FIT. A STRONG, FLEXIBLE BACK AND NECK ARE MORE ABLE TO HANDLE EXTRA STRESS.

TEXT NECK SYNDROME A PAINFUL GIFT OF TECHNOLOGY

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