Texting and Neck Problems

By: Evan Devanny

            Ryan Hollis, a senior at Stonehill College, spends about four hours of the day either on his phone or the computer and sometimes needs to crack or realign his neck.

            “I definitely notice it after a long period of time [on the phone], it just doesn’t feel normal,” Hollis said.

Texting is the major source of communication for many people but it is coming with a new problem, “text neck”.

            The spine or backbone is made up of a series of stacked bones called vertebrae, in between each vertebrae are intervertebral discs made up of fibrocartilage. These cartilaginous discs permit flexibility and increase absorption in the spine.

A healthy spine has natural curves to it, which also provides shock absorption. The cervical spine, or the neck, has a natural lordosis to it. This curve looks like a very wide C, opening towards the back.

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 When we are on our phones, our natural lordosis is straightened out which puts a lot of stress on the front of the shock-absorbing discs in the neck.

            “The position when using a cell phone applies increased pressure to the intervertebral disc on the anterior aspect which predisposes patients to disc abnormalities,” said Scott Devanny, an orthopedic surgeon at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital.

In simpler terms, this means that over a long period of time this unnecessary load on the discs can lead to degradation.

            The natural weight of the head is around 10 pounds, a recent study in Surgical Technology International found that as the head tilts forward 15 degrees from its normal position, like it does when texting, the force on the neck increases to 27 pounds. The further the tilt increases, the force will increases as well, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45 degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees.

            The degradation that we are beginning to see from texting can lead to other, more serious conditions such as a bulging disc, where the disc will bulge outside of its normal space and potentially pinch a nerve. Or a herniated disc, where the disc cracks and its contents spill out.

            “Think of discs as a jelly donut, in a herniation the jelly has spilled out of the donut,” said Chip Larson, a physical therapist at Capital Physical Therapy in Concord New Hampshire.

            As more people hunch over, it leads to a lot of problems with the spine. Sitting on the computer, watching TV, texting and driving all can lead to excess force being applied to the discs in the neck, experts said.

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 “It is hard to know the root cause of a bulge or herniation, but frequent flexion in poor posture will cause these problems, a lot of people don’t know what caused it but will say that texting exacerbates their condition,” Larson said.

Bulging discs are very common and can be treated with physical therapy, however some of them go undiagnosed and can turn into herniations if the damaging motion is continued. Herniations are much more painful and may require surgery.

“For a bulge, I would start with postural correction, encourage the patient to sit taller, or adjust their workstation. Second, since it is most likely a backwards bulge I would have them do extension exercises where they repeatedly look up to the ceiling and back down,” Larson said.

There is no need to wait for a bulge or herniation to start working on the health of the spine or neck. Preventative measures and exercises such as postural correction can be performed in order to ensure we are keeping our spine as healthy as possible.

“Most people can benefit from maintaining their extension, a lot of people don’t even realize they are lacking the motion until they see someone who can point their nose all the way to the ceiling,” Larson said.