STAYING AT HOME - A Pain in the Neck?
Many of us are using our phones for everything from keeping in contact, to following exercise classes or reading a book… let’s face it…they are not just phones anymore!
But classically, we all have habits of holding the phone in one hand, turning our head and looking down at it and this can cause a stiff neck at best and a disc prolapse at worst!
I would not wish the latter pain on anyone, it is truly horrendous. and without hands-on treatment easily available, it’s up to us to take care of ourselves and ensure it doesn’t get to that!
TOP TIPS for minimising neck pain
1 BE AWARE of your head posture: hold your phone higher and directly in front of you, if your arm aches you may be using it too much! If you still need to carry on consider propping your arm up eg on a cushion.
2 USE a bigger device whenever possible eg laptop which you can position so your head is in a neutral position and you are not focusing on a small screen.
3 MIX up screen time with other activities so you avoid long periods of time in one position: holding a stationary posture causes more strain on your body then moving around.
4-WFH? See next instalment!
Paula Collier-Ward
Registered Osteopath; About Backs & Bones within Total Body Rehab.
