The world is moving at an amazingly fast pace when it comes to advancing technologically. The pace is so quick in fact, that we don’t have time to account for any potential effects that weren’t predicted or previously identified. One example of this is the carpel tunnel syndrome epidemic that followed the mass introduction of the keyboard and mouse to the work world. People using these tools for 8 hours or more every day led to unforeseen wrist issues that there really was no initial solution for. People didn’t realize that they had anything serious wrong with them at first, which only made the problem grow worse over time. We have a similar physical epidemic on that is growing the world over and it is due to those convenient little devices that almost all of us carry around in our pockets or purses; Our cell phones.
You see it almost everywhere you go these days, especially with the younger members of our society: People walking around, or sitting somewhere with their face glued to a 3”-4” screen. What you may not notice while seeing so many eyes glued to similar screens is the fact that they are angling their heads downward toward the screen instead of bringing the screen up to eye level. This has several effects on your neck that can be painful as well as harmful. While it is common knowledge that the human head weights 12-15 pounds, what isn’t common knowledge is how much heavier your head becomes when you are hanging it downward, thus eliminating much of the natural support that your neck, shoulders and back provide. The human head becomes exponentially heavier when is ‘hanging’ to the tune of being about 64 pounds!! This is leading to problems in the neck and spine that can cause great discomfort over time.
While there is help available for this problem with chiropractic care, doing some prevention will go along way in avoiding any of the issues that can come from “Facebook neck.” Being more selective about when you check your phone or tune into ‘the matrix’ is a great step to take in mitigating problems born from constant cell phone use. It’s understandable if you use your phone for business purposes and need to check it frequently during your work day, but when you are at home, putting your phone in a location away from where you will be will allow you to ‘unplug.’ Separating from your phone and social media for periods of time during your day consistently has been shown to raise happiness levels while lowering anxiety levels. While we all love the access our phones provide, there is an addictive quality to it and many feel the ‘need’ to constantly check their phones.
Getting away from the digital realm is a good thing in many ways and doing so may actually be saving you from chronic neck issues in the future.