Do you find yourself whipping out your smartphone any time you have a few spare minutes to kill, whether that be on line at the grocery store or while sitting in a doctor’s waiting room? Do you get most of your news from the glowing screen of your phone or tablet, occasionally finding yourself locked into the device for extended periods of time? These types of behaviors are becoming increasingly more common, but if you count yourself a member of this group, have you thought about what it might be doing to your neck? It turns out these habits may not be doing it much good, but our Bowie physical therapists have some tips to help you avoid a condition called text neck.

Text neck is a fairly new diagnosis that’s caused by flexing the neck for extended periods of time, usually from too much time spent looking at a smartphone or tablet. It’s classified as a repetitive strain injury, and in a day when many people spend so much time on their devices, the prevalence of text neck is now growing rapidly.

Biologically speaking, our necks were not made for texting. Neck muscles and joints can handle our normal everyday movements, but they are not built to withstand being overstretched for countless hours every day. The average human head weighs between 10-12 pounds in a neutral position, in which the ears are positioned directly over the shoulders. But according to one study, when the head tilts forward to 30 degrees, the weight placed on the spine climbs up to a much as 40 pounds.

So when you spend much of your free time sending texts or watching the latest viral video, you’re pushing your neck past its limits, and over time, the result can be text neck. Aside from neck pain or soreness, the condition can also lead to headaches and shoulder, arm or wrist pain. In severe cases, it can even cause muscles to adapt to fit the flexed position, which can reverse the natural curvature of the neck and make it painful to straighten it. If nothing is done to correct this behavior, a herniated disc of the spine may also occur.

Tips to avoid text neck from our Bowie physical therapists

The average person spends about 14-28 hours each week with their head tilted over a smartphone or tablet, which can really add up to do some damage to the spine over time. Though it’s unreasonable—and unnecessary—to recommend completely ditching your personal device, there are some important measures you can take to reduce your chances of developing text neck. Our Bowie physical therapists recommend the following:

• Take regular breaks every few minutes while using your device to look upwards or straight ahead while tucking the chin back towards the neck; sometimes it’s even helpful to set the timer on your phone to remind you to do so
• Use the Text Neck Indicator app, which alerts users if their smartphone or tablet is being viewed at a safe angle or not
• Dictate messages instead of typing them out whenever possible
• When you’re at home, try placing a pillow or cushion on your lap to rest your arms on, so you’re able to hold your phone up and at eye level
• Perform postural strengthening exercises, which will build up muscles in the neck and shoulders to better prepare them for the strain from craning; focus on upper back strengthening, like rows, to accomplish this
• Perform stretching exercises to increase flexibility and range of motion, especially for the chest and side neck muscles

At CAM Physical Therapy and Wellness Services, we completely understand that most of you rely on personal devices to some extent in order to stay organized and in the loop, but just like everything else, there are right ways and wrong ways to use them. Busting out your phone whenever there’s a gap in the action and craning over it with your head tilted down falls into the second category, but that doesn’t mean you can’t correct it. Follow our recommendations, and if you’d like any more assistance, our Bowie physical therapists can help. Contact us at 301-464-7390 to schedule an appointment at any of our three clinics in Laurel, Hyattsville or Glenn Dale/Bowie, MD, or click here for more information on text neck.