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How Our Constant Need for Technology is Hurting Our Spines

I'm sure that more than a few of you may have looked at the title of this post and wondered how exactly your phone, laptop or any other piece of technology can possibly be related to the health of your spinal column. If you really take a moment to think about this however, it becomes easy to understand why more and more chiropractors are suggesting that their patients do their best to spend less time on their smart phones than they currently are.

The next time you pick up your phone, take a moment to notice your posture, and all the ways that your body changes in order to accommodate the phone in your hand. Chances are high that your neck is craned down and your head is pushed forward, while your upper back and shoulders are hunched forward and up as well. This type of posture is very unnatural, and places quite a lot of unnecessary pressure on the joints, muscles, and ligaments surrounding the spinal column, according to an informative article by Breaking Muscle that I recently came across. Read on to learn more about the connection between phone use and spine health, and what you can do to protect your spine in the future.

I learned some pretty startling information from this article, especially when it comes to the amount of pressure that is placed on the neck and upper spinal column as a result of phone use. According to the article, the average person tilts their head at a 45 degree angle down when checking or using their phone. This actually adds up to an additional 49 pounds of weight on a person's neck. As you can imagine, this severe amount of weight can cause all sorts of damage, strain, and muscular degeneration over time. 

Fortunately, there are steps that you can take in order to protect your neck and spine from future damage caused by using your phone. Try to remind yourself to hold your phone up to eye level whenever you need to read a message, send a text, or write an email. It may look silly, but your spine will be in much better condition as a result. The interesting thing about doing this is that your arms will tire out quickly and you will be using your phone less. Alternatively, you could try lying on your back and raising your phone above you for brief periods of time.

Be sure to consult a doctor of chiropractic for more tips on how to improve spine health. 

Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Brian Evans

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