The leading cause of neck pain in children and young adults in Ballard Seattle is texting neck, or what we call an anterior head carriage. Think of all the children that are using various devices such as cell phones and tablets. Notice their posture; heads are bent forward to view the screen. Some remain in this position for hours at a time. This is becoming somewhat of an epidemic. Imagine our youth turning into young adults with degeneration in their necks, beginning years or decades ahead of time.

Fast forward a few decades and these children are now 50 year olds with not only fused necks but their health is declining as well. Here is how it happens:

Text Neck in Ballard Seattle

The average human head weighs 10 to 14 pounds. The further forward you bend your head down the more weight your neck must support. According to an article in the Washington Post, "Text neck," experts explain how this "epidemic" is wreaking havoc on the spines of our youth. One expert noted in the article that "as the neck bends forward and down, the weight on the cervical spine begins to increase. At a 15-degree angle, this weight is about 27 pounds, at 30 degrees it ís 40 pounds, at 45 degrees it ís 49 pounds, and at 60 degrees it ís 60 pounds." Over time this puts enough pressure on the neck to cause degeneration and the vertebra in the neck's natural curve actually reverses. This puts even more pressure on the upper back and neck.

If one of the top two bones in the neck is not functioning properly it begins to affect the nervous system. The nervous system controls every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. When one or more of the spinal bones are out of position this decreases the quality of the nerve impulses that travel from your brain through your brainstem down the spinal cord out to every organ cell and tissue properly. This causes your body to function less than 100%, which affects the health of your body. In chiropractic today, we are seeing an influx of younger patients complaining of neck pain. Other symptoms of texting neck include:

• Headaches
• Radiating pain
• Tingling and numbness in the arms
• Arthritis
• Shoulder discomfort
• Dizziness
• Ringing in the ears

For people who like to text or use their iPads, we at Vitality Specific Chiropractic recommend the following:

• Raise the phone or tablet while you are using it
• Take frequent breaks
• Stretch your neck:
• • Flex your neck forward
• • Bring your ear to your shoulder
• • Rotate your neck

Get your neck checked regularly by your Upper Cervical Chiropractor today!

Authored by Dr. Deborah Benlien-Cotten