Texting, Pokemon Go, Searching the Web, etc. Causing Neck and Back Pain

Watching random people these days, I notice how they are walking or sitting with their head cranked all the way forward, shoulders hunched and looking down at their phone, causing very bad posture.

Practitioners at New West Wellness Centre Inc. have noticed an increased number of patients (all ages) with neck pain, shoulder pain and signs of early disk degeneration in their neck. The trend is worrying, since mobile-device usage continues to increase.

Iphone and Android use cause a lot of problems over time, including neck and shoulder pain, headaches, and premature disk degeneration that can lead to arthritis, and a hunched back.

A good neutral spine should be your ears in line with shoulders which are pulled back and eyes looking forward.

How to prevent future neck and back problems:

Practice perfect posture.

Stand or sit with a neutral spine, with ears over shoulder and shoulders over hips. Pretend like someone is pulling a string from top of your head and its making you taller.

Vary postures, set limits and take breaks.

Take breaks often. Set timers on your phone. Find exercises to stretch out. Bring Devices up to eye level. You can use things to prop up devices. Hold up your phone to eye level giving your self a shoulder work out.

Make Technology work for you.

Use the talk-to- text function. Use Siri on IOS or Voice Search on Android devices.

Strengthen your neck muscles.

Chin tuck (tuck your chin back as if you are trying to give yourself a double chin). Do 2 sets of 10 reps randomly through the day and tilt your head sideways by bringing your ear to your shoulder, Hold 30 seconds, 2 times each side.