{"id":16850,"date":"2016-03-25T12:11:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T19:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/?p=16850"},"modified":"2016-03-25T12:11:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T19:11:16","slug":"stiff-neck-and-back-maybe-your-smartphone-is-to-blame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/health-insurance-blog\/stiff-neck-and-back-maybe-your-smartphone-is-to-blame\/","title":{"rendered":"Stiff Neck and Back? Maybe Your Smartphone is to Blame"},"content":{"rendered":"

A funny thing happened on our way to the technology age \u2013 we now suffer from more physical ailments than prior to it. Well, that\u2019s not entirely true. Tired, blood shot eyes and stiff necks have been around for thousands of years. Of course, whenever possible we\u2019ve shrugged them off on our lack of sleep or having simply slept wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Businesswoman<\/a><\/p>\n

How your Smartphone may be harming you<\/strong><\/p>\n

As it turns out, your Smartphone could be the culprit with more and more people complaining of neck aches, according to health insurance<\/a> statistics. Therapists have even come up with a name for the spreading affliction \u2013 “Text Neck.” And, chances are you\u2019re a sufferer and weren\u2019t aware that the mobile device you hold in your hand and stare at a major part of the day \u2013 while texting, emailing, calling friends or business associates, and playing app games for hours on end \u2013 may be harming you.<\/p>\n

Because you generally tilt your head forward to use a mobile device, you\u2019re putting a strain on your neck muscles. Prolonged slumping or hunching can also lead to inexplicable backaches or headaches without considering the actual cause. Gamers will be the last ones to admit those neck cricks and achy shoulders are related to their hand-held devices \u2013 but, they may very well be the source, according to healthcare professional Dr. Dean Fishman.<\/p>\n

\"iStock_000086879499_Small\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The origin of the term \u201cText Neck\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fishman was the first to coin the term \u201ctext neck\u201d in 2008 while examining and trying to diagnose a 17-year-old patient, who had been complaining of headaches and neck pain. When Fishman glanced over at his patient and saw her posture as she was sitting, hunched over, and texting, he knew he was on to something.<\/p>\n

In a recent survey conducted by New York spine surgeon Kenneth Hansraj and published in Surgical Technology International’s 25th edition, it was determined that texting may be hurting your back. The study went on to explain that bending your head at an angle to perform any number of functions on your hand-held device can put up to 60 pounds of pressure on your neck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"iStock_000050579536_Small\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The greater the angle the greater the risk of pain<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Hansraj\u2019s study, the more severe the angle of your head to look at your device \u2013 15, 30, 45 and 90 degrees \u2013 the greater the risk of eventual neck, shoulder, and back pain. Furthermore, \u201cthe average human head weighs 10 pounds in a neutral position \u2013 when your ears are over your shoulders \u2013 and, for every inch you tilt your head forward, the pressure on your spine doubles\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hansraj recommends that you \u201cbe careful that your head is straight up when you’re using a smart device.” But, that\u2019s easier said than done. Most people become so absorbed in their mobile devices, they\u2019re not thinking about the positioning of their heads or where they\u2019re going.<\/p>\n

Not only does tilting your head forward cause nerve pain, according to Dr. Michelle Collie, director of Performance Physical Therapy in Rhode Island, but it can also create metabolic problems.<\/p>\n


\n
\"iStock_000070785653_Small\"<\/a>
\nOther serious health conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts say slouching can reduce the capacity of your lungs by as much as 30%. In addition, they say a lack of oxygenated blood flowing through the body can potentially lead to vascular disease. And, gastrointestinal problems can be caused by pressure placed on the organs in a bad posture.<\/p>\n

As much as some of us would like to, we can\u2019t just give up our mobile devices. But, for those of us who believe in preventive medicine, we can follow the recommendations of physical therapists, who advise taking frequent breaks while using any hand-held device.<\/p>\n

Tests have shown you\u2019ll improve blood flow by standing up and rolling your shoulders and neck every 20 minutes or so. Sounds simple enough \u2013 if you remember to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A funny thing happened on our way to the technology age \u2013 we now suffer from more physical ailments than prior to it. Well, that\u2019s not entirely true. Tired, blood shot eyes and stiff necks have been around for thousands of years. Of course, whenever possible we\u2019ve shrugged them off on our lack of sleep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[306],"tags":[],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16850"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=16850"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=16850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}