4 Reasons Why Text Neck Isn’t A Real Problem

Last week, the mainstream media went wild with articles talking about the danger of a new phenomenon called ‘Text-Neck’.

Now this is something chiropractors have been discussing for the last 7 or 8 years when texting really took off as a major form of communication. In the past, I’ve even fallen into the trap of telling patients that their texting posture could cause their necks to twist.

After several years of practice under my belt, and taking a look at biomechanical research, I have to say that blaming texting for your neck condition seems silly.

Why is it wrong?
In 2014, it’s hard to imagine life without texting. It is the most common method of communication, surpassing email and phone calls by a tremendous margin. Doctors use it to confirm appointments, websites use it to send secure communications, and appointments are nearly impossible without it. The growing popularity of smartphones has also provided an additional avenue for people to stay glued to their phones in a forward-flexed position for hours.

While the text neck idea may sound nice from a theoretical model of biomechanics, it just doesn’t add up clinically.

1. Where is the peak of neck problems? – If text neck is the problem it’s supposed to be, why isn’t there an increase in neck related problems in our younger generation? The world of medical research is very interested in identifying unusual spikes in why people go to the doctor, especially if these spikes occur in young people. So far, nothing has been published on the increased prevalence of neck dysfunction.

2. Workplace posture change programs have failed, why would changing phone posture work? – Attempts have been made to develop programs that change the ergonomics of workplace posture to see if they have an impact on the prevention or recovery of neck pain and back pain. Did the end work? They were like people who did nothing.

Also, I have worked with many chiropractors and physical therapists in the past who have made ergonomic recommendations to address this issue. In my previous story, I have never seen anyone’s neck improve because their cell phone usage habits have changed. Not in X-ray enhancement, and not in symptom enhancement.

3. Health history of people with neck problems: This is my favorite. People LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to blame their neck problems on their work and computer time, and they will always minimize the effect of a car accident or fall. It’s actually kind of funny. People will literally say that a multi-car rollover accident with immense damage to the car couldn’t be the problem, because they felt no pain immediately after the incident. But if they work on a computer all day for their job, then that’s the first thing they mention. People with primary neck pain (not caused by inflammatory arthritis, fibromyalgia, or other chronic pain syndromes) often have a history of head/neck trauma, work-related repetitive motion (dentists), or sports-related sprains/strains.

4. Probably my favorite, but purely theoretical reasoning why Text-neck is nonsense. In fact, it deserves its own subtitle…

Is the human body that weak?

Over thousands of years, the human body has endured and adapted to some pretty remarkable circumstances. In Africa and Asia, women often carry tens of pounds of rice, fruit and water on their heads for miles to feed their families or run a business. In fact, there are brick porters in Bangladesh who are known for their ability to carry 100 bricks on their heads, and that’s what they do for money!
Human beings have evolved and survived because of their ability to survive and push their bodies to perform these remarkable feats. Whether it’s drinking contaminated water, lifting incredible weights on their heads, running hundreds of miles, or fighting animals that are bigger and stronger than us.

We have built pyramids, survived unimaginable cold and heat, and routinely escaped car accidents that should kill us.

In my honest opinion, I feel like this increased text shaming is just an easy scapegoat for people to excuse the fact that neck pain doesn’t resolve, even with therapy.
So your texting posture isn’t important?

The posture that you maintain on a day-to-day basis is really overrated in terms of importance. What is most important is that your body has CONTROL over your posture, also known as Postural Control, which falls under a larger umbrella of neuromuscular control.

What does that mean? It means that when you want your body to be straight and upright, your body is capable of being upright and upright. It means that when you choose to lift a heavy weight overhead with good form, your body is capable of performing that task without fail.

Because? Because neuromuscular control is a strong indicator of overall brain health, and good brain health means you can better resist pain and dysfunction.

While ergonomics may play a role in managing pain and dysfunction that already exists, the evidence shows that it does nothing to prevent or recover from neck injuries. If we really want to get to the bottom of neck function, you need to address what started the cascade of dysfunction, and that is usually a previous history of force or trauma applied to the spine.

Trauma -> Structural change -> Distorted input and perfusion to the brain -> Changes in brain function -> Impaired neuromuscular control

So we can either play with the position of our phone and honestly get nowhere, or we can focus on

1. Identify the cause of someone’s dysfunction (disc, structure, mechanics, sensitivity)
2. Address problems in the brain and nervous system
3. Provide new movement patterns to increase functionality