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The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute Blog

Jun

18

Text Neck – The Result of Poor Texting Posture

The typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends and receives more text messages than telephone calls. U.S. teens between the ages of 13 to 17 are the most intense users of texting, sending and receiving an average of 1,742 messages per month!

The posture we assume while texting and e-mailing from mobile devices—using our thumbs to type, crunched over a tiny keyboard—is unnatural. That said, it only presents problems when we do it constantly without giving our body enough breaks

Here are a few tips to help you limit the amount of damage you are doing to your neck while using a mobile device.

• Reduce your keystrokes. More keystrokes equals more more time in an unhealthy posture, so keep your messages brief and use word recognition tools when possible.
• Assume proper texting posture. Hold your phone directly in front of your face while texting or reading email to avoid bending your neck downward.
• Take regular breaks. Doing any repetitive task for long periods of time without a break is a bad idea. Make it a habit to stop and take a break regularly to let your body recover.
• Orient your hands into a neutral posture. The wrist should be relatively straight during any typing activity. Avoid twisting your wrists into odd angles, as this will cause additional stress to the hand and forearm muscles and lead to chronic inflammation and pain.
• Use alternate fingers. Most people use their thumbs to text or write e-mails from their mobile devices. Although it may seem awkward at first, try alternating between fingers to give the thumbs a break.

Special thanks to Dr. Fishman of the Text Neck Institute for bringing this health topic to our attention.

 The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute