Tech Neck is a pain in something more than neck – the clinic Baton Rouge

The typical medium adult head weighs approximately 10-12 pounds. But did you know that bending it at an angle of 45 degrees to look at your mobile phone or tablet, you can dramatically increase your chances of having “Tech Neck?”

“It’s like having an 8-pound bowling ball like a head. Then you have 72 pounds in your elbow and £ 96 on your shoulder, “says Brian Langenhorst, a specialist in industrial and ergonomics in the health system of the Mayo clinic in La Cross. “I probably see Tech Neck weekly in business, schools and industry.”

Technical chic is any form of chronic neck or shoulder pain, soreness or stiffness caused by poor posture while using technology such as phones or computers. The gaze down to the electronic devices causes the neck muscles to strain and the shoulders to lower forward.

“People will notice some musculoskeletal fatigue,” Langenhorst explains. “They may notice pressure on the nerve supply, which can then have some forwarded pain, and pressure on the delivery of the nerve in the neck, which can be directed to the pain in the hands and hands.”

Over time, this position can deform the muscles of the shoulder, chest and neck and put pressure on your spine.

“You may have eight to 10 hours of work on a computer. Then you are home for two to four hours on a computer or on your phone. It’s extremely tired on your neck and body, “says Langenhorst.

“With mobile phones, we have to approach them to maintain visual comfort,” Langenhorst adds. “What I find too often is that many people do not move enough. They remain in a static position for extremely long periods of time. “

On average, people spend three hours and 15 minutes on their phones every day. People check their phones on average 58 times each day. Almost half (46%) of Americans believe they spend an average of four to five hours on their smartphones every day. A 2020 survey found that Americans would spend almost nine years of their lives using their phone.

“Static positioning is actually more work and more effort than dynamic movement,” Langenhorst suggests. “Your body will ask you to want to have visual comfort or postural comfort. The key here is that the vision always wins because we change our posture to adapt the vision. “

Tech Neck can also cause problems outside your neck and shoulders. Additional spinal pressure in your neck can lead to lower back pain, headache and hernia discs (slipped or protruding discs). The changed neck muscles and poor posture can also progress the jaw joints and muscles, creating temporomandibular pain in the joints.

“Think only about children and when they are home. They have their own tablet, desktop or phone at home for homework. Just look at their posture and see what their posture looks like. They are in a pretty good position? If not, they are probably in all kinds of crazy poses, “says Langenhorst. “They can probably get out of this while they are a little younger and more invincible. But soon, even in the early 20s, muscle fatigue will begin and we will notice some more tension and spraining. Make sure they make some sequential stretching and movement that we build on our day. “

One tip Langenhorst also recommends putting pillows in your lap, allowing your forearms to be maintained on these pillows. He also suggests trying to keep your phone in a more straight position, angle.

“It’s not great, but it’s better than not supported,” Langenhorst says. “As we age, the spine discs are narrowed, we begin to lose some of the pillows that are there. This can generate slightly more pressure on the nerve roots that come out of the neck level. With aging, it means 45 and older, these disk spaces become narrower. This can put pressure on your nerves in your neck. Some people may notice a level of fatigue and discomfort and then generate in pain. The pain can then generate in damage. “

Tips to improve technological neck

Other ways to improve your computer stand include:

• Put your screen 20-30 inches from your eyes (around the length of the arm).
• Use a computer monitor or laptop stand to help lift your screen to the right level (or arrange some books).
• Sit with your head, hips and spine. “The height of my eyes should be about 1/2 inches to 1½ inches higher than the screen because we have a 15-degree eye look. When I look straight ahead, the neck muscles and the muscles of the back and the muscles of the upper shoulders get a chance to relax. This prevents the placement of uneven pressure on the nervous power or muscle groups, “adds Langenhorst.
• Keep your wrists straight and your elbows bend under 90-degree angles.
• Keep your knees according to your hips and legs flat on the floor.

“The biggest challenge is that we do not work or remain in neutral or straight stand. I want to be able to have a head in an upright position, ears over shoulders, shoulders over your hips, “he says.

Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of damage, with the annual distribution rate exceeding 30%. Most episodes of acute neck pain will be resolved with or without treatment, but nearly 50% of people will continue to experience some degree of pain or frequent manifestations.