The rise of smartphones has made our lives more convenient. We’re able to browse the internet, send emails, play games, scroll though Facebook or Instagram. This also means we’re spending a lot more screen time on our phones than ever before. A recent study surveyed 1000 Australians and found that we spend on average 5.5 hours a day on our phones. This is 33% of our waking hours on the phone. As a result, we’re seeing a lot more people complaining about neck pain. Physiotherapist are seeing a lot more patients reporting text neck symptoms.
What is Text Neck?
The term ‘Text Neck’ is a repetitive stress injury caused by holding your neck forward and looking down onto the phone for extended periods of time. Our neck muscles and joints are working excessively to hold our neck in position. Over a prolonged period of time this issue can give us neck pain, shoulder pain and headaches.
Signs and Symptoms of Text Neck:
- Localised neck and shoulder pain when on the phone
- Shoulder and neck stiffness
- Forward head posture
- Dull ache and sharp pain towards the end of the day due to postural fatigue
- Headaches that are apparent when looking at the screen
What can I do about it?
Use Screen Tracking Apps: There are many apps out there that can track your screen time on your phone. These screen tracking apps will be able to tell you which apps you are using the most throughout the day. An effective way to cut screen time is to start setting a time limit for how long you can use your phone a day. The more aware you are of how long you use the phone then the more likely you will cut down the screen time. It can difficult to put down the phone when you are constantly receiving notifications from different apps. Turn off notifications for all unnecessary applications and you will find that you are less likely to pick up the phone.
Set Tech Free Zone: It can be difficult in finding the sweet spot between living in the 1960s with no smartphone technology and your smartphone compulsion. This strategy involves setting time out of your day to put the phone aside and connect with your family. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, try to set a tech free zone when you gather at the dining table for dinner. This means the kids need to stop playing their mobile games and as a parent you need to switch off your work emails. You may find that you’re able to better connect with your family and have less episodes of neck pain. Other places to set a tech free zone include the bedroom, bathroom and the car.
See a professional: Physiotherapy is a great way to fix text neck symptoms. A Myphysio physiotherapist will use a variety of hands-on technique to decrease the pain and stiffness associated with this condition. More importantly, they will give you the appropriate rehabilitation exercises to help keep your neck muscles strong to fix and prevent reoccurrence of text neck issues. Our physiotherapist will collaborate with you to find ways to you still enjoy using the phone without having neck pain. You don’t have to put up with neck pain, contact one of our friendly physiotherapists today.