Text neck syndrome is common among many people. This is due to many reasons, including using phones for long periods. Most people spend over 5 hours watching their phones daily, which causes a lot of neck pain and discomfort. In fact, 7 out of every 10 people suffer from text neck syndrome. So Fitness Garage will explain what it is and how to treat it.
What text neck syndrome does to your body is it puts pressure and strains the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your neck. The human head weighs about 10 kilograms. When your head tilts down for a long time, your tendons carry all that weight in an unhealthy way. So we need to treat this syndrome and also stop some bad habits.
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Exercises to protect against text neck syndrome:
These exercises help stretch and strengthen muscles to reduce a lot of neck pain. We'll show you some of these exercises:
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Exercise one: Exaggerated nod
How to perform the exercise:
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Start by sitting comfortably at your desk with your shoulders relaxed.
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Relax and loosen your mouth and upper body.
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Lower your head toward your lower jaw until you feel a stretch in your neck.
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Second exercise: Downward-Facing Dog
How to do the exercise:
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Support your body on your hands and feet.
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Bend your toes and lift your hips up with your thighs.
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Lower your heels back toward the floor but don't let them touch it.
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To reduce pressure on your wrist, press your index finger and thumb together.
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Breathe slowly and try to relax.
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Exercise 3: Cat-Cow
How to do the exercise:
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Support your body on the floor with your knees, the tops of your feet, and your hands.
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Place your hands directly under your shoulders.
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Use your belly muscles to curve your spine upward.
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Let your chin drop down as much as possible.
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Flip your position so your belly faces down and your neck and head face up.
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This exercise reduces stress and pain so try to do it regularly.
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The fourth exercise: Padahastasana
How to do the exercise:
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Take off your shoes and stand barefoot.
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Bend your body down and let your hands touch the ground.
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Put your hand under the top of your foot.
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Press your hand on the sole of your foot.
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Exercise 5: Bow pose
How to do the exercise:
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Lie on your stomach.
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Put your chin on the ground.
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Bend your knees and lift your heels as close as possible to your thighs.
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Try to lift your upper body up until you hold your foot.
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Breathe slowly and try to relax with this exercise.
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Exercise 6: Chin tuck
How to do the exercise:
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Sit up straight on the chair and keep your chin parallel to the ground.
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Pull your head and chin back.
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Imagine a string pulling your head upwards.
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Breathe deeply and repeat this exercise 3 times.
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Preventing neck pain completely:
There are some steps that help avoid feeling that pain, they are : -
- Change the way you hold your phone: Keep your phone screen in front of your eyes and not too low or high. This helps protect your neck tendons.
- Take breaks from the phone: Resting from the phone helps your neck return to its normal position. You can do some previous exercises during breaks. Try to set these breaks at the start of the day so you don't forget.
- See a doctor: If you have pain for a long time, try some exercises and see a doctor. You might need a more specific treatment plan for your case.
- Practice yoga: Yoga is one of the best exercises for keeping your neck and back healthy. You don’t have to go to special places. Just 10 minutes of yoga at home is enough.
