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‘Text Neck’ – The tension in your shoulders explained

Posted on 12/07/2018

 

Do you have ‘Text Neck’?

It’s a phenomenon that has been evident for a number of years! Research shows that the average person spends over 4 hours per day on their mobile phone and this, along with laptop use, can result in ‘text neck’.

It doesn’t really seem that long ago that businesses were proactive in measuring desk and screen relationships with ‘ergonomics’ being the big buzz word.  This may still happen in some businesses, but more and more of us are working from home and spending more time at leisure on our tablets, phones and laptops.

Did you know that the average adult head weighs 11 pounds? Some pretty amazing muscular relationships keep the head where it is and allows us the movement we require, on a day-to-day basis.  By bending the head forwards, when looking down at a phone or tablet, the muscles of the neck and upper back work harder than they were designed for. By leaning your head forward you will be likely to be increasing the postural angle to 60 degrees and thus increasing the force on those supporting muscles to 60 pounds! No wonder we get neck ache!  Some of these muscles, especially the trapezius, run all the way from the top of the neck to the mid-back, so the aches and pains are extended further down the back too.

The trapezius muscle is a large area of muscle tissue that is is easily fatigued by the over-straining of neck muscles. This can also result in the following symptoms:

  • general back ache/back pain
  • feelings of tightness that in turn affects posture
  • fatigue
  • headaches
  • muscle spasms
  • pain
  • disturbed sleep

Tension headaches are the most common type of headaches, with the NHS stating that 1 in 30 adults suffer from chronic headaches of this type.  They can come and go, but chronic headaches can be persistent and present symptoms on a daily basis. They can also contribute to migraines, where a person may experience head pain, visual disturbances and even sickness.  All of these symptoms can also make some people feel anxious and depressed.

Few people realise that massage can be really helpful in the reduction of debilitating headaches, as many see the treatment more as a lovely relaxing spa-like treatment, usually practised on women. But, by warming and stretching your muscles a massage therapist can not only relax them but will also re-train muscle fibres to behave in a different way.

Perhaps you’ve heard of muscle memory?  Massage reduces adhesions and fibrous tissue (knots) and improves joint mobility. It also aids the removal of waste material from muscle cells and promotes the circulation of oxygen and nutrients to muscle groups.

At Cheltenham Reflexology and Massage we focus on purposeful massage, with the desire for change, aiding the well-being of our clients.

If you are interested in a massage treatment in Cheltenham, please call us on 01242 255440.

We are based at 1 St Margaret’s Terrace, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 4DT