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Suffering A Text Neck? See What You Can Do About It

Every inch a person might tilt their head forward, the weight their neck carries doubles

Written by Kashish Sharma | Published : November 18, 2022 5:30 PM IST

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What Is A Text Neck?

Text-neck is not a clinically established term but it has become a silent epidemic among this generation who find it hard to stay away from their phones and laptops. The condition could be described as a repetitive stress injury that one may inflict upon themselves by keeping our head in a forwarded position for extended periods. The condition can affect the curvature of the spine and might put excessive strain on your neck and shoulder muscles and the adjoining ligaments.

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Like Carrying A Child On Your Shoulder

As per experts, a human head weighs roughly around 10 pounds. Every inch a person might tilt their head forward, the weight your neck carries doubles. The strain greatly affects your spine health. If you tilt your head forward to 15 degrees, there is about 27 pounds of force exerted on your neck. Similarly, it might increase to 40 pounds at 30 degrees.  Also Read - 10 Hindu Goddess Names For Baby Girl Starting With 'P'

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Painful, Stiff And Sore Neck

The chronic condition often results in a neck that is painful, stiff and sore. Apart from these symptoms, one might also experience neck spasms and chronic back pain. If the condition prevails for long, a person might experience some numbness or tingling sensation in the neck that can go all the way down to one’s arms. In some cases, this unpleasant posture can also cause a pinched nerve which can further result in weakness in the shoulders and arms.

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Keep A Neutral Spine

If you have developed a text neck and your work involves spending too much time staring at a computer screen, then there are certain modifications you can make like taking frequent breaks while texting or reading, keeping the device at eye level, setting phone reminders to shift positions, try maintaining a neutral spine that is neither too forward and bent nor too stiff and high. Also Read - Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Reduce Bone Density? Know From A Doctor

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Simple Exercises You Could Use

Practising some exercises like effectively helps you get rid of the condition. For instance, practising a chin tuck in which you sit in an upright straight position and tuck your chin as if making a double chin. One can also tighten the muscles of the shoulder blades and bring them together for a few minutes. One can also go for side-to-side stretches where you can move your head in one direction to face one shoulder and then shift in the opposite direction to face the other. Yoga poses such as the cat-cow pose and bow pose can also be effectively helpful.