Text Neck

  So what is this so called "text neck"? The nickname has been coined from our generation always looking down texting on our phones. It's not just from texting though. It's also seen in people who have desk jobs and sit in front of a computer all day. In the health field it is more commonly known as upper crossed syndrome. This upper crossed syndrome is caused by muscle imbalances in your upper back and neck. For example, as your chest muscles tighten in the front, your back muscles have to lengthen and become weaker to accommodate this change. This causes you to have forward head posture and your shoulders roll forward as well. Every inch your head migrates forward, another 10lbs. of pressure is put onto the spine. Symptoms that most commonly seem to develop are chronic headaches, upper back pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain. This is very common in my office and I find the majority of my patients dealing with headaches, neck or upper back pain have these exact muscle imbalances. The problem can be corrected though. Through proper adjustments, stretching and strengthening exercises, as well as practicing good posture while sitting and taking breaks from looking down for long periods of time will put you on the right path to correcting this issue. If you feel you may be dealing with this, be sure to get it corrected right away. The longer you let it go, the longer it will take to correct it.  

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