Simply Health and Wellness
Simply Health and Wellness is a podcast designed to encourage, uplift, inspire, and educate young families and the millennial generation concerning a holistic and vitalistic lifestyle approach to health and wellness.
Simply Health and Wellness
Unpacking Tech Neck: Finding Relief in a Digital Age
If you're one of the countless individuals tethered to screens for hours on end, you may be experiencing the uncomfortable effects of Tech Neck Syndrome. In today's enlightening episode, Dr. Jagarin Knight Bryant from Mustard Seed Chiropractic unpacks this modern ailment, shedding light on how our daily habits contribute to neck pain and discomfort. As we explore the mechanics of our posture while using technology, Dr. Bryant reveals the surprising weight our heads can exert when not aligned properly, causing significant strain on the cervical spine.
Listeners will gain valuable insights into common symptoms of Tech Neck, including neck stiffness, and radiating pain. While many might hope these ailments will resolve naturally, the reality is that neglecting such signs can lead to chronic issues requiring more intensive interventions. Dr. Bryant passionately emphasizes the importance of proactive care through regular chiropractic adjustments. These routine visits not only realign the spine but also serve as vital preventive measures.
The episode also includes practical tips to improve posture and awareness while using devices. Simple strategies like elevating screens to eye level or even adjusting work environments with standing desks can make a significant difference. With over 30 hours a week spent on technology, finding ways to care for our spines is crucial in this digital age.
Join us for an engaging and informative discussion on tackling Tech Neck Syndrome. Remember, your spine deserves just as much attention as the devices you rely on daily. Subscribe and share your thoughts with us—how do you maintain your posture while working?
Are you looking down at your phone or hunched over at the computer screen right now? Or sitting at a red light listening to this podcast with your chin almost two inches across the actual steering wheel Waiting for the light to turn green? If not, maybe you are doing some portion of that throughout the day or a significant part throughout the week. See, that's a lot of us. A lot of us are doing that and it's becoming a pain in the neck. Hi, I'm Dr Jagerin Knight Bryant here from Mustard Seed Chiropractic, located in beautiful Smyrna, georgia. Today we're going to discuss Tex Neck Syndrome or Tech Neck Syndrome.
Speaker 1:As a chiropractor, the number one question I'm asked right after viewing my patients' x-rays and insight scans, is this how did my neck get like this, doc? The answer is simple Poor posture, trained over a sustained amount of time, spending large amounts of time repetitively in positions that slowly add increased pressure on the neck area of the cervical spine. Of course, the next question becomes this well, how do I fix it at home? And the reality is this you can't fix this at home because the problem started at home. You see, the problem started when we sat at computers for six to eight hours a day, or the problem started because we started looking at the West Elm magazine. Right, we saw 20 pillows on the bed. We purchased the whole bedroom set. It came in the mail, we opened it up, we put them on the bed and we slept on all 20 pillows right behind our head. The problem started because we fall asleep on the couch and we lay there for sustained amounts of time in improper positions, repeatedly, for days, weeks, months, some for years. I'll see you later. The problem becomes an issue when you are sitting at the desk at work for six to eight hours consistently, with their head stuck looking at a computer screen. Or, even worse, now people can work on the phones, looking down at the phone consistently all day, putting even more pressure at the neck. See, you need someone outside of yourself to now analyze the issue, assess it, create a plan for it and then actually fix the problem. But you know, just like most people, we think we can fix everything ourselves, we think it will resolve itself, and so we never actually address the real issue.
Speaker 1:I'm here to let you know today there is a solution and it's called chiropractic care. It takes seconds to deliver a chiropractic adjustment which removes the interference from the actual spine and nervous system. It's going to improve the actual posture and curvature of your spine. It relieves the pressure off of the discs, the muscles, the ligaments and the actual tendons in your neck. It feels great, it's safe and it is effective.
Speaker 1:So the real issue is this most of our lives are now tethered to our technology consistently. So our solution should be to tether our lifestyles to consistent chiropractic care at least once per week. I mean, for heaven's sakes, your body spends about 30 hours per week now at minimum on technology, so why would we not spend at least 20 minutes out of our week addressing, correcting and maintaining our spine? It only makes sense. You see, the tradeoff is fantastic, and so I know what you're thinking. Consistent chiropractic care, doc. Yes, when you're spending 30 hours a week consistently at the computer and consistently putting your body in improper position and training your spine, basically to be in an improper position, it only makes sense to spend a couple minutes out of the week addressing it, correcting it and maintaining the one spine that was given to you.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about anatomy here your neck or your cervical spine. It is made up of seven vertebrae. Those are bones which are mostly flexible. It's the most flexible part of your spine, if you will. So these vertebrae, they will support a heavy head at times, keeping you upright, allowing you to move up down side to side, right your neck. It really does a lot of work. Naturally, the curvature of your spine, it gently goes to this inward curve and it balances this outward curve of your upper back or your thoracic spine. So since the neck is highly flexible, it also is susceptible to damage, to stress and to pain.
Speaker 1:And so we do have this modern problem as we drop our necks to text or to hunch over over and read or watch or type or be on the laptop. We hold our necks in this forward curve extended position for long periods of time and this overstresses the neck, to say the least. It really does compress and tighten the muscles, tendons and ligament structures in the front of the neck and it lengthens the corresponding structures behind the neck. And then, when we hold our phones at our chest or waist level and our eyes are focused on the screen, the neck then drops into what we as chiropractors call the cervical kyphosis, and this position has been come to known as tech neck or technology neck, if you will. Sometimes you'll hear people talk about it as literally just like a text neck, but all of it is the same.
Speaker 1:After a while, the position becomes a problem or literally a pain in the neck. You see, let's talk about the pressure here. The average adult head weighs about 10 pounds. We talk about this a lot here at Mustard Seed Chiropractic. When the ears are aligned with your shoulders, or what is known as this neutral position, in this position with our shoulder blades pulled in, there is minimal stress on the neck. However, when the 10 pounds lean forwards, the stress increases dramatically. You see, at a 15 degree angle, it feels more like the head is weighing about 27 pounds. 15 degree angle, it feels more like the head is weighing about 27 pounds. Leaning at 60 degrees forward, which is very common now in today's society, the pressure on the cervical spine resembles 60 pounds. So just think about that. Imagine holding a 60 pound dumbbell in your hand, let alone on your neck and shoulders. This excessive pressure causes the spine to become misaligned, potentially leading to neck pain, herniated disc over time periods.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing the pain won't just be isolated to your neck. Over time, your shoulders and upper back may become increasingly uncomfortable as it passes, although it may not be occurring immediately. When the pain does arise, it does come and go for a few weeks, so you kind of feel it sway in and sway out, if you will. You think things are just going to be okay, it's going to fix itself, but it's not. You'll start to experience more stiffness, more soreness, and then that radiating pain or traveling pain that goes down into the mid back and shoulder blades and then it can even extend into your arms. The pain is often this dull ache, but it can at times, whenever you are in certain positions, be sharp. It can also cause headaches, which is very common, and you may expect the pain, to feel the pain when you're on your phone, at the computer or just other random times.
Speaker 1:Here's a reality too. We can't just abandon our devices. So we have to concentrate on alleviating the discomfort by increasing posture, flexibility and strength, yes, but even more importantly, we have to get an adjustment. We have to actually get it corrected. We should approach this issue from all directions, and it starts by actually getting a chiropractic adjustment. The technology is not going anywhere. I haven't met one person yet that's been able to say doc, I'm just going to put the phone down, I'm going to put the computer down. I'm never going to use it again. We are all tethered to our devices. We're tethered to technology for years to come, so we need chiropractic care.
Speaker 1:So one part is this increasing our awareness. Pay attention to your habits. Of course you're going to text, you're going to look at your phone, but becoming more aware of your position and adjusting to it will pay dividends over time. You want to lift devices to eye level as much as possible, whether that's the phone or the computer, and you do. You want to try to focus on your posture. You want to think more about your posture. Maybe look in the mirror, see if you see a shoulder that's higher than the other one. Start right now in the car, maybe holding, seeing if you can pull your shoulders back a little bit.
Speaker 1:Get your head over your actual spine, if you will right Notice how difficult it may be for some of you, which means that probably there's a structural misalignment keeping you from actually maintaining that position. Other thing that we need to do is kind of make adjustments around the home, if you will. One thing I tell my patients all the time is, if you are out and about, one thing you can do is place one elbow over top of the other arm and hold the phone at eyes level. When you do this, it's actually really comfortable. It stretches out the mid spine and it maintains the head in this neutral position while you're able to still look at your phone. Mind, and it maintains the head in its neutral position while you're able to still look at your phone. Also, if you're at work, you might want to start thinking about a standing desk, something that you can go from sitting to standing if you will, and that way you can kind of change your environment so you're not just sitting down consistently and you also want to make sure that your computer screen is at eye height.
Speaker 1:Here's the other part that most people do. They forget. You do want to get up and do stretches, and I'll actually add a couple of stretches here onto our YouTube so you guys can check that out. I added a link here into the podcast. You can literally click the link, go to YouTube and check out the stretches that we highly recommend. But I do want to say this most importantly you need to come see us. You need a chiropractor that you can trust to deliver a chiropractic adjustment to the spine and nervous system. This will allow the body to overcome the sustained stress on it, daily placed on us by technology. Adjustments literally take seconds. So here at Mustard Seed, we say we're here to help you heal better, feel better, guide you along your health and wellness journey.
Speaker 1:If you're not here in the Smyrna area, I do advise you to try your local chiropractor. And don't stop until you find your chiropractor. Just like a barber, just like a hairstylist, just like a dentist, just like an MD. You don't stop going. You got to find the person and the service that works best for you. Not finding the person is not an excuse. You got to find the right chiropractor.
Speaker 1:You see, here's what I've noticed about humans. Many people struggle because we lack clarity. Often individuals, they find it difficult to stay consistent because they don't have a clear vision of what's going on and what they want to achieve. It's hard to remain motivated and focused with a specific goal or objective when you don't understand what's happening and you don't have a clear vision. So here's the thing I need you to understand after listening to this podcast.
Speaker 1:Now that you understand the cause, the next step for you is to actually schedule an appointment. Go, get checked. The podcast won't change anything for you. You actually got to go and get somebody to hands-on assess it and correct it. You got to get educated and then, the most important and beautiful part, you get to enjoy the benefits of chiropractic care. By the way, this approach is far better than taking pills just to mask the symptoms or, even worse, one day undergoing a surgery because the blown disc and you didn't address the underlying issues and that leads to this numbness and tingling and sharp pain going down the arms. It's radiating. You see, small steps can cover a great distance. You are going to consistently use technology, so you will need chiropractic care regularly.
Speaker 1:My name is Dr Jagarinite Bryant here at Mustard Se need chiropractic care regularly. My name is Dr Jagarin I Bryant here at Mustard Seed Chiropractic Definitely cannot wait to see you come in. You got any questions or concerns. Please reach out to me. I hope this podcast was extremely helpful for you and don't forget, consistency is key. Most people are not consistent because they lack clarity. Now that you know, you can grow. We are here to help and I hope I see you soon. Take care and have a blessed day.
