Text Neck Explained? How Your Phone Is Damaging Your Spine!
Did you know your head can place up to 60 pounds of pressure on your neck… just from looking down at your phone? If you deal with: neck pain, headaches, stiffness, shoulder tension, or numbness in your arms, your phone could be one of the biggest reasons why. Today I’m going to explain: what “Text Neck” actually is, how it slowly damages your spine, and most importantly… what you can do to fix it before it gets worse. I’m Dr. Garst with The Well Chiropractic Clinic in Mesa / Gilbert, Arizona and we specialize in treating Text Neck.
WHAT IS TEXT NECK? Text Neck is a repetitive stress injury caused by constantly looking down at phones, tablets, and computers. Your head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds when it’s sitting directly over your shoulders. But the farther forward your head moves… the heavier it becomes for your neck. For example: 15 degrees = 27 lbs, 30 degrees = 40 lbs, 60 degrees = 60 lbs That means every time you’re bent over your phone, your neck muscles, discs, ligaments, and joints are under massive stress. And the scary part? Most people do this for HOURS every single day.
HOW IT DAMAGES THE SPINE. Over time, this posture can start changing the structure of your spine. Here’s what commonly happens and the progression your neck will go through: 1. Loss of Neck Curve- Your cervical spine should naturally curve backward. But constant forward head posture can cause that curve to straighten or even reverse. Clinically we are seeing this happen with younger and younger kids every year. That creates: muscle fatigue, joint stress, and increased pressure on the discs. 2. Disc Degeneration- When the head constantly shifts forward, the discs in the neck absorb more compression than they were designed for. Over time this can contribute to: disc bulges, herniations, arthritis, and accelerated degeneration. 3. Nerve Irritation- As the joints and discs become irritated, nerves can become compressed leading to: numbness, tingling, burning pain, weakness into the arms or hands.
COMMON SYMPTOMS. A lot of people don’t even realize their symptoms are connected to posture. Common signs of Text Neck include: neck stiffness, headaches, upper back tightness, shoulder pain, reduced mobility, jaw tension, fatigue, and even poor sleep. And for some people…it progresses into chronic pain that doesn’t go away on its own.
HOW TO FIX TEXT NECK. The good news is: your body can improve if you catch this early. Here are some of the most important things you can do:
1. Raise Your Phone/Device Bring the phone UP to eye level instead of bringing your head down to the phone. This simple change dramatically reduces stress on the spine.
2. Improve Your Desk Ergonomics. Your monitor should be: eye level, directly in front of you, with shoulders relaxed and posture upright. If you work on a laptop all day, you’re at much higher risk for developing a form of Text neck.
3. Take Movement Breaks Every 30–45 minutes: stand up, stretch, retract your shoulders, and reset your posture. Motion is critical.
4. Strengthen Postural Muscles Most people with Text Neck have: weak upper back muscles, weak deep neck flexors, and tight chest muscles. Corrective exercises can help retrain posture and stabilize the spine.
5. Chiropractic & Corrective Care: In many cases, chiropractic care can help improve mobility, reduce tension, restore spinal motion, and improve posture mechanics. Reinforcing or restoring the cervical curve can correct the underlying problem—not just the symptoms.
Text Neck is becoming one of the most common spinal problems we see today…and it’s affecting people younger and younger every year. The longer poor posture continues, the more stress it places on your spine. If you’ve been struggling with: chronic neck pain, headaches, stiffness, or posture problems, don’t ignore it. The earlier you address these issues, the easier they usually are to correct.