THE PAINFUL COST OF TECHNOLOGY
Have you ever thought about how much weight our neck supports during day-to-day life?
Whether you’re poking your chin forward to look at your computer screen or looking down at your phone, tablet or laptop, both can lead to stress on the joints, muscles and nerves of your neck.
An adult’s head weighs about 10-12 pounds - as much as a 10-pin bowling ball. Just an additional 15 degrees of flexion can increase the stress of your cervical spine to 27 pounds.* Full forward head tilt of 60 degrees, a very common posture when texting, can increase this force up to 60 pounds. That’s 5-6x more weight on your neck!
How much time we spend on our devices also adds up. 2-4 hours per day looking down at your phone or device adds up to 700-1,400 hours a year. That’s a lot of your neck to handle!
Forward head posture can lead to decreased neck/upper back mobility and pain, headaches/migraines, jaw problems, nerve issues in the arms or hands, decreased shoulder mobility, altered balance and decreased respiratory function.
Our chiropractors are here to help you improve your posture and minimize the painful cost of technology.
Good posture doesn’t just make you look better, it makes you feel better!
* Hansraj, K. Assessment of stresses in the cervical spine caused by posture and position of head. Surg Technol Int. 2014 Nov:25:277-9.
