Text Neck Syndrome: A Natural and Alternative Treatment

What is Text Neck Syndrome?

Text neck syndrome is a blanket term that is used to describe recurrent neck pain and is often associated with long periods of time bending the head and neck over a computer, video game console, or mobile phone. While anyone can suffer from text neck syndrome, it is becoming alarmingly common in children and teens who spend long periods of time using technology. 

Signs and Symptoms of Text Neck 

Text neck can manifest in a number of different ways, with severity usually depending on an individual’s physical risk factors and the time they spend on their devices. Some common symptoms that can indicate text neck include sharp or nagging pain in the neck and shoulders, eye pain, nerve pain, numbness, or tingling in the upper limbs, frequent headaches, decreased range of motion in the neck, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders. 

What Causes Text Neck?

The primary cause of text neck is the weight of the head, which places a large amount of pressure on the head-neck junction when bent forward over a device. The weight of the head when bent forward (at a 45-degree angle) can be up to 45 pounds — this additional weight on the muscles and joints of the head-neck junction can result in repetitive stress to the vertebral column and weakness in the surrounding supporting muscles, potentially leading to slipped or misaligned discs. 

The onset and severity of text neck can be accelerated when there is underlying weakness in the mechanics or musculature of the upper back and neck. For instance, a misalignment in the upper cervical spine can cause excessive strain and flexion in the musculature of the neck and shoulders. Left untreated, these imbalances will further weaken the head-neck junction, leading to the onset of text neck and other postural defects.  

How Our Treatment Works for Text Neck

Upper cervical chiropractic care is a gentle form of traditional chiropractic medicine that relies on correcting misalignments in the upper cervical spine. By realigning the spinal column to its natural position, upper cervical chiropractic care can help to alleviate strain and inflammation in the muscles around the neck and shoulders, thereby relieving, if not eliminating, your stiff neck symptoms.

During your upper cervical chiropractic consultation, a Blair Chiropractic Technique chiropractor will create an individualized treatment plan to identify areas of concern in the upper cervical spine. This process typically includes the use of cone-beam computed tomography scans and/or non-invasive X-rays to pinpoint the precise location and angle of any vertebral misalignments.

Armed with this information, the Blair Chiropractic Technique chiropractor will conduct a series of precise, low-force manipulation techniques to ease the vertebrae back into place. Unlike other types of chiropractic treatment, this process will never involve any cracking, popping, or twisting of the spine.