Is Text Neck Really A Global Epidemic?

Move over tennis elbow, text neck has arrived.

There are plenty of maladies in our modern world, but a new one has been introduced as a by product of the smartphone revolution.

And it’s not just a malady any longer, it’s been classified as a world-wide health concern by Dr. Dean L. Fishman, Chiropractic Physician.

The Text Neck Institute talks about the added risks of this repeated stress injury and warns if left untreated, it can eventually cause permanent damage.

Hunching over to read on a tiny portable device causes undue stress on your neck and shoulders — resulting in headaches as well as creating a huge pain in the neck. It’s so common that it has been coined “text neck” by Dr. Fishman.

“The average human head weighs 10 pounds in a neutral position — when your ears are over your shoulders. For every inch you tilt your head forward, the pressure on your spine doubles. So if you’re looking at a smartphone in your lap, your neck is holding up what feels like 20 or 30 pounds.”

While we’re not convinced yet that text neck is a “global epidemic” — the remedy is remembering to take frequent breaks from your devices (about every 20 minutes to stretch). And if you can’t, the Text Neck Institute created a mobile app, “Text Neck Indicator” to keep your device correctly positioned while reading.

If you happen to suffer from text neck, Self.com has a helpful list of simple exercises aimed at relieving your symptoms.

“Text Neck is not just a texting problem,” says Dr. Dean Fishman. “Text neck is a gaming problem. Text neck is an e-mailing problem.”