Tucson: texting neck pain

Does your neck ache after an hour on your phone? Smartphones and laptops are a modern convenience, but all that looking down can come with a price. Many people call it text neck.

Here are five things to know about text neck, a common problem in the smartphone age.

Text neck is linked to posture

Looking down at a phone or laptop for long stretches adds stress to your neck. Over time, that stress can contribute to pain and stiffness.

How you hold your head matters for your neck.

Text neck is common among young people

Many people spend hours a day looking down at a phone, and the time adds up quickly. A few 15-minute or half-hour stretches can easily reach two hours or more.

For teenagers, several hours a day on a phone is not unusual. Over a year, a few hours a day adds up to hundreds of hours spent looking down. Researchers are still learning about the long-term effects.

Text neck and sitting still add up

Hours of looking down at a phone often go with hours of sitting still. Most of us are not very active while we scroll or text.

Inactivity can make the effects of poor posture worse. Put the phone down now and then to stretch and move. Staying active matters, even on screen-heavy days.

Posture habits can change

Practicing good posture is the easiest place to start, and small steps count. It also helps to treat screen time as a break rather than an all-day habit.

A visit with a chiropractor is a reasonable step if hours of looking down have left your neck sore.

Simple ways to look down less

Cutting back on looking down takes intention. Try raising your phone and looking with your eyes instead of bending your neck. You can also ask friends and family to point it out when they see you hunched over for a long time.

If neck pain from screen time keeps getting in your way, Dr. Rosseland can take a careful look at what is going on. Call (520) 444-1937 or request an appointment online. Same-day appointments are available when there is an opening.