Back pain has become a widespread disease. In particular, frequently looking down at your smartphone, tablet or laptop can cause postural damage and pain. But with these three tips, you can also get rid of your cell phone neck.
Back pain is one of the most common illnesses in our society. More than 30 percent of Germans suffer from it, according to a study by the AOK health insurance company. This figure has remained almost the same in recent years.
One of the reasons for this is technical devices in everyday life. We often look down too much to type on our cell phone, tablet or notebook.
But what can you do if you are struggling with neck pain and posture problems as a result? We have three tips to help you get rid of cell phone neck.
How does cell phone neck develop?
Our heads are not designed to look down all the time. However, if we are engrossed in scrolling on our smartphone, this is exactly what happens.
But the more we tilt our head forward, the more the weight of our head increases. It can quickly increase from an average of six kilograms to up to 25 kilograms.
Our neck muscles then have to lift all this extra weight. But they quickly fight back with tension and pain – the so-called cell phone neck.
How to improve your posture again
However, the one-sided forward strain doesn’t just cause a cell phone neck. It can also shorten the chest and abdominal muscles. This can result in a hunched back.
If you want to escape this spiral of one-sided strain, you can take countermeasures with the following three tips. First and foremost is your everyday behavior.
You should review this. You can easily counteract this – because the further down your smartphone is when scrolling, for example, the greater the weight on your head.
Of course, this applies to all screens you look at during the day. Adjust them so that your head is in a neutral position while you work. Above all, this also means that your chin is not overstretched forwards, but that you have a slight double chin – so your spine is optimally aligned.
Stretching and strengthening to combat cell phone neck
You can also counteract your tension and neck pain with simple exercises. These often require little or no equipment, which is why they are also suitable for a short break at work.
Firstly, you should stretch your muscles. This not only allows you to address areas that have been shortened due to poor posture. You can also loosen up your tense muscles and regain more flexibility.
Simple exercises for this include shoulder circles or stretching your neck. Make sure you do the exercises slowly and use your full range of motion.
Tip number three relates to strengthening your muscles. However, it is important not just to train your back.
Because every muscle also has an opposing muscle that also needs to be trained. That’s why you should always make sure to train the front and back of your body.
If strength training isn’t right for you at this point, you can also strengthen and stretch your body with yoga or Pilates, for example.
