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Hey everyone, welcome back. I'm Dr. Hunter Schultz
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from 920 Chiropractic Health and Injury Care
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here in Green Bay, and today we're talking about
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something I see every single day in my office,
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tech neck. If you've ever looked down at your
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phone and felt that ache at the base of your
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skull or noticed your shoulders creeping up toward
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your ears after a long day at the computer, then
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this episode is for you. So what exactly is tech
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neck? Let me break this down for you. Your head
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weighs somewhere around 10 to 12 pounds when
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it's sitting directly over your shoulders. That's
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a lot of weight on its own. But here's what's
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interesting. Every inch you push your head forward
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the effective load on your spine increases dramatically
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So if you're looking down at your phone with
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your chin dropped toward your chest The strain
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on your neck can feel like carrying 40 or 50
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pounds on those muscles and joints That's why
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you feel so worn out and tight your body is literally
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working overtime just to hold your head up Now
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here's the thing, we live in a world where screens
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are everywhere, phones, tablets, laptops, televisions,
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we are always looking at something, and most
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of the time that something is below eye level.
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So over time, the muscles in the back of your
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neck get overworked and tight, the muscles in
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the front get weak and underused, and the natural
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curve of your cervical spine, that gentle forward
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curve your neck is supposed to have. starts to
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flatten out or even reverse. That's when people
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start feeling not just neck pain, but headaches,
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shoulder tension, and sometimes even tingling
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or numbness down into the arms. You know what
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I hear a lot from patients? They say, I don't
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even know when it got this bad. And that's the
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tricky part about tech neck. It builds slowly.
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It doesn't happen overnight. It's the accumulation
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of hundreds of hours of poor posture that eventually
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shows up as pain. So let's talk about what you
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can actually do about it. First, raise your screen,
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whether it's your phone or your computer monitor,
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get it closer to eye level. You shouldn't have
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to drop your chin to see it. If you're working
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at a desk, your monitor should be roughly at
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eye level or just slightly below. This one change
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alone can make a big difference. Second, take
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breaks. Every 30 minutes or so, step away from
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your screen, roll your shoulders back, and do
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a simple chin tuck. Here's how that works. Instead
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of pushing your chin forward, gently pull it
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straight back like you're trying to make a double
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chin. Hold it for a few seconds, then release.
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That movement helps retrain your neck muscles
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and reinforces the natural curve of your spine.
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Third, strengthen the muscles that hold you upright.
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Your deep neck flexors, your mid back muscles,
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your rhomboids, these are the ones that keep
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your posture in check. Simple exercises like
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rows, face pulls, and those chin tucks I mentioned
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go a long way. Now when should you come see a
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chiropractor about this? Honestly, sooner rather
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than later. If you're having neck pain that doesn't
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go away after a day or two, headaches that seem
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to start at the base of your skull, stiffness
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when you try to turn your head, or any tingling
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or weakness in your arms, Those are signs that
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your spine needs some attention. The earlier
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we address these issues, the better the outcomes
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tend to be. At 920 Chiropractic Health and Injury
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Care, we look at the whole picture, we assess
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your posture, your movement, and how your spine
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is functioning, and we put together a plan that
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actually makes sense for your life. Tech neck
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is one of the most common things we treat, and
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the good news is it responds really well to chiropractic
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care combined with some smart daily habits. Alright,
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that's a wrap for today. Thank you so much for
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tuning in. If you're in the Green Bay area and
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you want to get your neck checked out, give us
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a call or visit us at 920 Chiropractic Health
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and Injury Care. We'd love to help you feel better
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and move better. Take care of yourselves and
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we'll talk again soon.