It’s safe to say you’re probably reading this article from your handheld device or computer screen. It’s also safe to say you are probably hunched over, engaging in a seriously harmful position. When you are hunched over reading an article, tweet, etc. You are increasing your risk of text neck.
Text Neck is a serious postural dysfunction that we ALL suffer from. Take a look around. How many of your friends, family, co-workers having this flexor dominant posture? Are their shoulders rolled forward, neck out like a turtle? This has become the new posture of this generation. Our bodies are adapting to technology at an alarming rate.
What is Text Neck? Definition: head forward, shoulders rounded, and back slumped. This flexor dominant position, also known as “text neck,” is a real epidemic.
Most people spend approximately five-seven hours per day on their phones. Endless amounts of scrolling and Google searches. That amount of screen time can lead to some serious text-neck aches and pains…OUCH!
Researchers at Harvard Medical Health predict that 7 out of 10 people will experience neck aches at some point in their lives. Because let’s be honest. Are we really going to put down our smartphone???
Let’s talk about what text neck and what it does to your body. It compresses and tightens the muscle, tendon, and ligament in the front of the neck. At the same time, it lengthening the muscles, tendon, and ligament structures behind the neck. Now, you have these push/pull muscles imblances going on.
The human head weighs 8-10 pounds. For every inch, your head is tilted forward, the weight your neck has to carry doubles. But ditching our devices isn’t really an option. Instead, what we can do is make sure we do corrective exercises that help us adopt healthy tech posture to prevent the aches and pains associated with text neck.
Here are my top 3 corrective exercises to reverse Text Neck
Chin Tucks
1) Chin tucks. Sit up tall in your chair and keep your chin parallel to the floor.
2) Without tilting your head in any direction, gently draw your head and chin back, like you’re making a double chin (the only time we want a double chin).
***Be careful not to jam your head back. You should feel a stretch along the back of the neck***
Cat/Camel
1)To begin with, the ‘cat’ phase, use your core strength to curl your spine toward the ceiling while tucking in your tailbone as you exhale.
2)Lengthen your neck and allow your chin to reach down and in, toward your chest, so your ears are next to your biceps.
3)To begin the ‘cow’ phase, scoop your pelvis so your belly drops down to the floor as you inhale. Broaden across your shoulder blades, drawing your shoulders away from your ears, and lift your chin and chest to gaze up toward the ceiling.
Change how you hold your phone
This is the most simple and ALWAYS ignored way of reversing Text Neck. Simply, get out of the iHunch position by bringing the screen to eye level so your head is not slouched.
Adopting a healthy tech posture is so very important. Especially, in our work from home culture. Try these 3 simple movements to help reverse text neck and relieve your deskbound aches and pains.
For more info on how to adopt a healthy tech posture. Follow me on Instagram @mikejonestoday