Pardee UNC Health Care : How to safely use technology and avoid 'tech neck'
Much of our lives revolve around technology. That’s true in the classroom, too, as many schools have moved to provide students with portable computers to complete their work. When you're staring at a computer screen for an extended period, it puts a lot of strain on your neck. Taking steps to prevent “tech neck,” especially in children, is essential for promoting an ongoing healthy lifestyle.
What is “tech neck?”
Tech neck, while not an official medical diagnosis, is a term that’s developed over time to refer to strain on the muscles in your neck caused by looking down at screens. You may feel the most discomfort in your neck, but tech neck can affect other parts of your body like your shoulders, spine, or back muscles and can even cause headaches.
As children grow and develop, maintaining good posture is essential to strengthening the muscles in their neck and back. Constantly looking down at screens and craning their neck can be a hard habit for kids to break and can lead to aches and pains and possibly future back issues.
How to avoid tech neck
Keep the screen at eye level: To avoid straining your neck, make sure to adjust your screen so that the device is at eye level. This helps to promote good posture and keeps from looking down for long periods of time. Take note of your body position. Make sure that your shoulders are relaxed and your feet are flat on the floor. Students should also be given breaks every 30 minutes to stretch, move around and adjust their bodies so that they don’t get stiff and their muscles stay loose.
Move your body: Exercise is essential in promoting a healthy lifestyle and a key step in preventing tech neck. Whether it’s playing sports, riding a bike, or going for a walk, when children move their bodies, it helps to strengthen their muscles and reduces inflammation.
Stretch Daily: Stretching is another great tool to help improve posture and taking the pressure off the spine. Use stretches that target the neck, chest and upper back muscles. Keeping these muscles in good shape will help reduce the tension on the cervical spine that can happen when craning the neck looking at a screen. Stretching with your children models good behavior and helps to form healthy habits. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or right before bedtime, find what works best for your child to incorporate stretching into a daily routine.
Limit screen time: Outside of the classroom, make sure you are setting boundaries on how often your children are using technology, whether it’s watching television, texting their friends, or watching videos. Not only does this help promote good posture, but too much time looking at screens strains the eyes and interferes with sleep cycles. Find what works best for your child and set ground rules so they can develop healthy habits when it comes to using technology.
When to see a healthcare provider
If tech neck goes untreated, it can lead to more long-term issues, including muscle imbalances, rounded shoulders, reduced mobility, back issues, and chronic headaches. This is why it’s important to be attuned to your children’s behavior and habits, so you know if something is wrong.
Most neck pain subsides relatively quickly after implementing the techniques I discussed. If you feel like your child has developed new neck pain or their discomfort is not improving after working through these steps, it may be a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider. Your provider can evaluate whether tech neck is causing the pain or if they may have an underlying condition. To find a provider near you visit www.pardeehospital.org.
Dr. Erik Olsson is a board-certified spine surgeon with Southeastern Sports Medicine and Orthopedics, a department of Pardee Hospital.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: How to safely use technology and avoid 'tech neck'
