Got Text Neck? A Chiropractor Can Help With That!
Posted on: 11 March 2016
Waking up with a debilitating headache is not the way you want to start your busy workday. Instead of being able to concentrate on the tasks at hand, instead, you face a day of pain, fatigue and distraction. While technology in the office is supposed to be making your life easier, it can be one cause of headaches because of a condition known as "text neck." Don't be fooled that this name only applies to people who have heavy cell phone use though, as this problem is a lot more common than you might think.
What Is Text Neck
Several years ago, a report stated there were over 20 million cell phones in use in Australia, and there is no reason to expect that this number would have lowered since then. Whether you are spending your day looking at your phone, surfing on your tablet, or even sitting at a desk working on a computer, you are putting your neck in a position for long periods of time where it has to support your head at an unnatural angle.
This constant bad posture puts stress on your spine, and it also causes tension in the neck muscles. Once your spine and neck get tired of trying to support you, they will start sending pain signals to your brain in an effort to get you to relieve the pressure you are putting them under.
How Can A Chiropractor Help?
One of the first things a chiropractor is going to take a look at is the alignment of your spine, and if this is found to be curving in an unnatural way, they will make an adjustment to correct this. A spinal adjustment involves the chiropractor using a thrusting movement with their hands to push your spine back to its natural position. It does not generally hurt the patient, however if your spine has been out of alignment for a while, you may experience a little pain for 24-48 hours after the procedure as your muscles have to adjust to being in a different position again.
For neck muscle pain, a chiropractor can firstly massage the area to loosen the tension that is being held in the muscles. Next, they can teach you neck muscle exercises that will help you to strengthen this area. The stronger your muscles are, the less they will react when having to stabilize your head for periods of time while you are using electronics.
For more information, contact a chiropractor in your area.
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