UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.240
Hey everyone, welcome back. I'm Dr. Hunter Schultz
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.519
from 920 Chiropractic Health and Injury Care
00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:06.299
here in Green Bay, and today we're talking about
00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:08.400
something I see every single day in my office,
00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:10.980
tech neck. If you've ever looked down at your
00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:12.939
phone and felt that ache at the base of your
00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.179
skull or noticed your shoulders creeping up toward
00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:17.379
your ears after a long day at the computer, then
00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:20.199
this episode is for you. So what exactly is tech
00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:22.420
neck? Let me break this down for you. Your head
00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:24.379
weighs somewhere around 10 to 12 pounds when
00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:26.300
it's sitting directly over your shoulders. That's
00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:28.920
a lot of weight on its own. But here's what's
00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:31.710
interesting. Every inch you push your head forward
00:00:31.710 --> 00:00:34.729
the effective load on your spine increases dramatically
00:00:34.729 --> 00:00:36.890
So if you're looking down at your phone with
00:00:36.890 --> 00:00:39.509
your chin dropped toward your chest The strain
00:00:39.509 --> 00:00:42.210
on your neck can feel like carrying 40 or 50
00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:44.710
pounds on those muscles and joints That's why
00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:47.490
you feel so worn out and tight your body is literally
00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.159
working overtime just to hold your head up Now
00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.759
here's the thing, we live in a world where screens
00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:55.859
are everywhere, phones, tablets, laptops, televisions,
00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:58.780
we are always looking at something, and most
00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:01.039
of the time that something is below eye level.
00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:03.479
So over time, the muscles in the back of your
00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:05.780
neck get overworked and tight, the muscles in
00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.680
the front get weak and underused, and the natural
00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:12.180
curve of your cervical spine, that gentle forward
00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:15.439
curve your neck is supposed to have. starts to
00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.040
flatten out or even reverse. That's when people
00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:20.980
start feeling not just neck pain, but headaches,
00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:23.799
shoulder tension, and sometimes even tingling
00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:26.019
or numbness down into the arms. You know what
00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:28.000
I hear a lot from patients? They say, I don't
00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:29.659
even know when it got this bad. And that's the
00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:32.060
tricky part about tech neck. It builds slowly.
00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:34.859
It doesn't happen overnight. It's the accumulation
00:01:34.859 --> 00:01:38.340
of hundreds of hours of poor posture that eventually
00:01:38.340 --> 00:01:41.010
shows up as pain. So let's talk about what you
00:01:41.010 --> 00:01:43.689
can actually do about it. First, raise your screen,
00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:46.629
whether it's your phone or your computer monitor,
00:01:46.989 --> 00:01:49.349
get it closer to eye level. You shouldn't have
00:01:49.349 --> 00:01:51.730
to drop your chin to see it. If you're working
00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:54.390
at a desk, your monitor should be roughly at
00:01:54.390 --> 00:01:56.969
eye level or just slightly below. This one change
00:01:56.969 --> 00:02:00.569
alone can make a big difference. Second, take
00:02:00.569 --> 00:02:03.730
breaks. Every 30 minutes or so, step away from
00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:05.769
your screen, roll your shoulders back, and do
00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:08.340
a simple chin tuck. Here's how that works. Instead
00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:10.280
of pushing your chin forward, gently pull it
00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:12.199
straight back like you're trying to make a double
00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:14.599
chin. Hold it for a few seconds, then release.
00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.500
That movement helps retrain your neck muscles
00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:20.280
and reinforces the natural curve of your spine.
00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:23.020
Third, strengthen the muscles that hold you upright.
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:25.699
Your deep neck flexors, your mid back muscles,
00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:27.860
your rhomboids, these are the ones that keep
00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:30.439
your posture in check. Simple exercises like
00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.199
rows, face pulls, and those chin tucks I mentioned
00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:35.659
go a long way. Now when should you come see a
00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:38.139
chiropractor about this? Honestly, sooner rather
00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:40.340
than later. If you're having neck pain that doesn't
00:02:40.340 --> 00:02:42.560
go away after a day or two, headaches that seem
00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.939
to start at the base of your skull, stiffness
00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:47.020
when you try to turn your head, or any tingling
00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:49.849
or weakness in your arms, Those are signs that
00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.189
your spine needs some attention. The earlier
00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:54.789
we address these issues, the better the outcomes
00:02:54.789 --> 00:02:58.569
tend to be. At 920 Chiropractic Health and Injury
00:02:58.569 --> 00:03:00.650
Care, we look at the whole picture, we assess
00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:03.229
your posture, your movement, and how your spine
00:03:03.229 --> 00:03:05.650
is functioning, and we put together a plan that
00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:08.210
actually makes sense for your life. Tech neck
00:03:08.210 --> 00:03:10.669
is one of the most common things we treat, and
00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:13.930
the good news is it responds really well to chiropractic
00:03:13.930 --> 00:03:17.860
care combined with some smart daily habits. Alright,
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.860
that's a wrap for today. Thank you so much for
00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:22.099
tuning in. If you're in the Green Bay area and
00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.159
you want to get your neck checked out, give us
00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.560
a call or visit us at 920 Chiropractic Health
00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.960
and Injury Care. We'd love to help you feel better
00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.240
and move better. Take care of yourselves and
00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:32.219
we'll talk again soon.