THE DREADED 'TEXT NECK'

Text neck is the term used to describe the neck pain and damage sustained from looking down at your mobile phone, tablet, or other wireless devices too frequently and for too long. However having your head in this position whilst you read, write or work on a desktop computer all has the same effect.

Having your head in this position puts a huge amount of stress on the neck, upper back and shoulders. This can lead to chronic muscle strains and dysfunction in the joints of the spine. Some of the symptoms caused by having your head in this position on a regular basis include:

-Upper back pain ranging from chronic, nagging pain to sharp, severe upper back muscle spasms.

- Shoulder pain and tightness

- If a cervical nerve becomes irritated, this can cause pain and other neurological symptoms to radiate down into the arm and hand. This is what is known as cervical radiculopathy (Pain from the neck spreading down the arm).

The amount of force applied to the neck increases significantly the more your neck is flexed looking down. The table below demonstrates this:

The weight seen by the spine increases when flexing the neck at varying degrees. An adult head weighs 10-12 pounds in the neutral position. As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck surges to 27 pounds at 15 degrees, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45 degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees. 

Reference

Hansraj, K. (2004). Assessment of stresses in the cervical spine caused by posture and position of the head. Neuro and spine surgery, surgical technology international.  Vol 25, pages 277-279.