Saving Your Spine While Texting

It seems that we are growing more attached to our cell phones every day, but we never really stop to consider the amount of pressure our spines go through each time we bend our necks down. The poor posture is more commonly referred to as "text neck", which can add anywhere between 30-60lbs (15-30kg) of pressure on the lumbar region by the awkward spinal angles. 

The force increases by approximately 27 pounds (12.2kg) at a 15-degree angle, 40 pounds (18kg) at a 30-degree angle, 49 pounds (22kg) at a 45-degree angle and 60 pounds (27kg) at a 60-degree angle. That would be like having a small child sitting on your neck while you type!

The Symptoms & Consequences of "Text Neck" 

 

Having your neck in a downward position for extended periods of time can result in severe stretching of the spinal tissue, which could potentially lead to pinched nerves, herniated disks, and even spinal surgeries. Texting can also strain your eyesight, especially when you have to squint down further to read the words or titles. Some of the symptoms of "text neck" can include; tightness across the shoulders, soreness of the neck (stiff neck), and chronic headaches. 

Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, who is the chief of spine surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, wrote about how texting drastically affects the spine with bad posture, and published it in the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The research suggested that keeping good posture is ideal to prevent spinal injuries from occurring. 

 

Dr. Hansraj points out a safer alternative to "text neck". He suggests that your ears should be aligned with the shoulders, while the shoulder blades are retracted. This position reduces the amount of stress on the spinal region. Dr. Hansraj also suggests that you should look down at your cell phones and tablets, by moving your eyes down in favor of bending the neck.

 

Preventing "Text Neck": 

 

Make sure your neck isn't tilted when you're glancing down at the phone. Instead, try scrolling with your eyes only, while keeping your neck in a neutral position. 

 

Keep your neck and spine comfortably rested on a few pillows if you're going to text while in bed. 

 

Keep your ears aligned with the shoulders, and your shoulder blades retracted.This is important posture for texting while sitting inside a moving vehicle or train. 

 

Avoid eye strain by making the fonts on the phone or tablet larger when possible.You can enter the display settings and simply change the fonts to a larger size. 

 

Hold a tablet straight in front of you at a 30 degree angle when typing to keep your neck and wrists protected. 

 

Take a break every 15 minutes or so by looking up and bringing the neck back into the neutral position. 

 

All it takes is a few slight adjustments to maintain proper posture, and you can limit the potential for unwanted cervical spinal stress.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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TREATMENT FOR LOW BACK PAIN

 1) Heat and Ice Therapy: One of the most recommended forms of treatment includes heat and ice therapy. You can use a warm bath or a heat compress and heating pad to soothe the area and bring down the pain. Ice packs can be used for inflammation and swelling. While the previous method can be used for chronic pain, the latter can be used for acute pain and more recent accidents. These methods are known to increase the blood flow to the affected area and hence bring much relief when there is pain and stiffness.

2)Choose your Activity with Caution: There are a number of activities that one can carry out even when you are suffering from lower back pain. Mild to moderate exercise that has been approved by your physician can help in soothing the area. The trick in such cases to move at frequent intervals so that stiffness and further pain does not set in. You can embark on walks and even water exercises that will help in soothing the stiff muscles. Having said that, one must remember to avoid exercises that will involve bending and standing for too long as this can aggravate the pain.

 3) Rest: It is essential to sleep in the correct position and get the best amount of rest so that the muscles and joints of this area can get the required comfort and rest before being put to work again. Yet, too much inactivity is also not recommended in such cases, and hence one must not rest for too many days at a time. Further, it is important to rest in the correct position so that the lumbar area does not twist and there is no pressure on the same. It would be best to lie down on the back without crossing the ankles.
4)Pain Medication: You can get a prescription for pain medication in case the pain is unbearable. It would be advisable to take medication after consultation with a doctor. One can have oral medicines or take topical application gels and ointments that will numb the area. One can have ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin and other such medicines to get relief from the pain.

Interventional pain management

Finding the right relief can be tough for patients living with chronic pain. It involves a lot of trial and error to find the therapy that works for you. The Interventional Pain Management is one therapy that is aimed to reduce your pain, as well as provide options for preventing pain in the future. It adopts a comprehensive and holistic look to treat pain with lesser risk and morbidity when compared with surgical interventions.

Benefits of interventional pain management

 1) Surgery cannot be a solution to every health problem, the minimally invasive procedures of interventional pain management are cost-effective
2) Lower risk for infections and complications
3) Lower recovery time as they don’t employ large incisions or anesthesia.
 4) It identifies the source of pain and comes up with the right solution to alleviate pain


Types of interventional pain management

1) Epidural Steroid Injections: The prime aim of these injections is to identify the site of pain and reduce inflammation in the nerve roots as they exit the spine. A local anesthesia is administered and a steroid is injected into the epidural space. More than one injection is needed until there is a significant reduction in pain.
2) Facet Joint Injection and Medical Branch Blocks: This technique helps the patient to manage and tolerate their pain better. A steroid is directly injected into the facet joint to reduce pain. Medical branch blocks target i.e. the nerve that detects the painful sensation and sends messages to the brain. These blocks help further denervation procedure and provide long term relief.
3) Sacroiliac Injections: These injections are administered directly on the sacroiliac joint of the spine which is the cause of lower back pain.
4) Peripheral Joint Injections: Joints like shoulder, knee and hip are injected with medicines that aim to reduce painful inflammation at the source of joint dysfunction.
 5) Radio frequency Ablation: This involves the use of radio waves to create an electrical current that delivers heat to the targeted nerve tissues. It results in the impairment of the nerves to transmit pain signals to the brain
6) Rhizotomy: This is another procedure where the pain signals are turned off. Heated electrodes are applied to the specific nerves to cut off the transmission.
7) Spinal Cord Stimulation: This uses electrical impulses to block pain from being perceived by the brain
8) Nucleoplasty: This is a procedure in which a which tissue is removed from the disc of the spinal cord to decompress and relieve pressure
9) Intrathecal Pump Implantation: A pain pump is placed under the skin that directly delivers pain medication to the targeted area.

 this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.                                                                                                             https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations                                   https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes                 https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement