How Chiropractic Care Can Address Text Neck

One of the biggest changes I have seen over the last fifteen years with my newer patients is that the normal curve of the cervical spine is breaking down. All this month, we are bringing awareness to this topic, since it affects most of us. Since everything needs a catchy phrase to throw around, the phrase “text neck” is most commonly used.

What Is Text Neck?

Text neck implies that looking down at your smartphone causes unwanted stress to the cervical spine, which can lead to many issues. Unfortunately, it’s not just using your smartphone that causes the breakdown of the normal curve in the neck. Other contributors are computer work, bad seated posture, driving posture, studying, and any action that causes you to look down for long periods.

As smartphones, tablets and computers take over, more and more people acquire text neck. The only way to see the text neck is through X-ray when your cervical spine is evaluated. The most common symptoms are headaches, neck pain, radiating pain down the arms or upper back.

Most of the time, the symptoms come and go, or the severity goes up and down, but symptoms never go away completely. This is because the underlying issue with the cervical spine puts pressure on the nervous system in the area. Until the pressure is relieved, the symptoms will continue. Chiropractic care can help relieve this pressure.

Cervical Spine Degeneration

Another downside of text neck is the increased rate of degeneration in the cervical spine. First, the pressure on the discs will increase, which will cause them to decrease in size and put more pressure on the nervous system. Second, the vertebral bodies will start to change shape and degrade, which is irreversible. A good analogy for degeneration is tire wear. If the tires are aligned properly, they wear evenly. If they are aligned improperly, they wear unevenly and can’t be changed back to normal.

Chiropractic adjustments help restore and maintain the normal curve in the cervical spine, and we can also provide a neck wedge that you use at home to combat daily stress. Many of our patients already use one of the neck wedges, and they are important in obtaining a positive outcome in restoring and maintaining the curve in the cervical spine.