A Heavy Head From Smartphones

We all know we are supposed to stand up straight.  We've been told since we were kids.  We've all seen the hunchback in fairy tales and horror movies.  Yet we continue to slouch.  It's a fact that the force of gravity pulling us down, makes it much easier to just let our necks and upper backs just hang forward.  Now a new scourge has been set upon us that rivals gravity's effect on our posture:  The Smartphone.

According to CBS News (see article here), a new study is going to be published in Surgical Technology International by the chief of spine surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, showing the effects of flexing (bending forward) your neck to look at the little screens.  As we increase the angle our cervical spine (neck) flexes forward, we increase the amount our head weighs, relative to our spine holding it up.  Wait, what?  Well, due to the pull of gravity, the further forward you lean, the harder the muscles in your neck need to pull.  So, according to the study, flexing forward 15 degrees (which is a relatively small amount) more than doubles the force the muscles must pull.  If we flex our neck forward 60 degrees, the amount of force goes from 10-12lbs (the actual weight of our head) to an astonishing 60lbs.  So as far as the neck and upper back muscles are concerned, its like walking around with a 50lb hat on. 

Some of the the most common complaints we see in our office are neck pain and headaches.  Most of the time the pain is not coming from a pinched nerve or migraine, but from tight muscles and trigger points (hyperactive small bands of a muscle) behind the head and along the neck.  You know those big, tight muscles along your shoulders, the ones that tense when you shrug?  Those are your upper trapezius and one of the biggest culprits.  As you would expect, adding to the amount of weight the neck muscles must hold contributes to, if not causes, all this tension. 

The human body has developed over many years to be upright.  Smartphones are trying to reverse what our parents have tried to instill in us.  We must not let that happen.  Trying to limit the amount of usage is the first line of defense.  Try and only answer the most important emails from the cell phone.  When you do use it, try and hold it up higher, as to limit the amount of neck flexion.  Lastly, try this stretch, doing it periodically throughout the day acts both as a reminder to watch your posture as well as helping to strengthen your upper back and neck muscles.  As always, if you notice pain from the stretch discontinue and call your health care provider.  For additional exercises and stretches, as well as the correct way to set up your computer, visit us at www.peyserchiropractic.com.