If You’re Going to Be Looking at Your Phone All Day, at Least Take Care of Your Neck.
Neck pain and poor posture stem from a variety of issues, and constantly staring at your phone can be one trigger . In his video, Dr. Joe, a DPT and licensed physical therapist, suggests a couple of neck stretches to help counter the effects of all those texting and reading Lifehacker on your phone.
As you tilt your neck forward, over time, the muscles in the front of your neck, shoulders, and upper chest tighten and tend to pull your shoulders and neck forward slightly, which looks like poor posture overall . So, Dr. Joe is demonstrating a couple of stretch marks here:
- Chin . Instead of pulling your neck towards your chest, try to create a double chin.
- Pull your shoulders back to stretch your pectoral muscles. I also love this combination of push-ups, yoga and movement and these back stretches.
- A chin lift option when you are lying on your back on the floor. Place a rolled up towel or shirt behind your neck for support and so that you can imagine you are “pushing” the neck muscles into the towel.
- An upper back stretch in which you begin to lie on your stomach with a pillow on your chest and imagine lifting your chest until you feel a stretch in your upper back. You shouldn’t use your loin here.
I sit at my desk for hours and also love to watch Twitter on my phone, so it’s no surprise that I, too, struggle with tension and general neck and shoulder pain. Some time ago, I learned from Keith Galliett about the best way to look at my phone and write text messages to save my neck: I rest my elbows on my body for support, and I keep my phone at eye level so that I don’t turn. my neck forward. It is important to keep your neck as vertical as possible because every inch it pushes forward putsabout 10 pounds of force on it. Thisvideo also provides some great examples of how to write text without killing your neck.
We talk a lot about posture , but good posture is not something that some people have just magically. You learn to become more aware of what your body is doing and make a conscious effort to “fix it” when possible, and to stretch and be more active. I am also not perfect at always catching my own bad postural habits, but when I have the opportunity, I try to quickly fix them.
Text Exercises and Exercises for Neck Pain Relief | Ask Dr. Joe