Now a days we depend on our smart phones more than ever. It is estimated that adults use their cell phone an average of four hours a day. Repeatedly looking down and maintaining that position for long periods of time can cause pain in the neck, tension in the shoulders, headache, numbness in the hands. The development of bad posture among other things becomes inevitable. The incidence of neck pain is so prevalent today that some researchers categorize it as an epidemic.
Why does my neck hurt after using my cell phone? Our head weighs approximately 12 pounds. For every inch that our head is displaced towards the front, the tension in our neck increases causing pain. Some long-term effects of maintaining this position includes: muscle weakness, humps caused by poor posture, chronic headache and shoulder pain. There is also the possibility of suffering from a herniated disc and degeneration in the vertebrae and discs of the neck and upper back.
5 recommendations to avoid aches or pains after using the cell phone.
- LIFT THE CELLULAR
Instead of looking down, lift your cell phone to the same level as your eyes. This will eliminate the tension caused by the weight of your head when looking down.
- ROTATE THE SHOULDERS BACKWARDS.
Having the shoulders rotated forward causes pain and tension in the high back near the shoulder blades. By rotating the shoulders backward, we ORDER the body to have better posture.
- STOP FREQUENTLY
Neck and shoulder stretches will help decrease tension and muscle spasms taking breaks from cell phone usage helps a great deal.
- EXERCISES
Specific exercises for the neck and back will help you improve your posture. People with bad postures suffer more from back and neck pain than those with good posture.
- USE YOUR CELLULAR LESS
We already know that we cannot live without our cell phone. Let's invite those family and friends who send texts to have a coffee and share in person! The benefits of quality time with a loved one outweigh the benefits of cell phone usage by far.
Dr. Anthony Rodriguez is a Chiropractor with more than 10 years of clinical experience dealing naturally with those people who suffer from neck pain and shoulder strain. Dr. Rodriguez is originally from Puerto Rico and is completely bilingual and has helped thousands of people in the last ten years of his practice. Most insurances, auto insurance (for people injured in accidents) are accepted at the iCare office and they also have options for people without health insurance. For updated information, videos of exercises and stretches visit their website www.icarechiro.com, or their Facebook under the iCare Chiropractic, or Instagram under the name icarechiro. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment today call 786-391-3868
Anthony Rodriguez
Chiropractor
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