DO YOU KNOW HOW SMARTPHONES ARE WRECKING YOUR HEAD AND NECK?
Technology has taken over during the past decade and lockdown has lead to excessive use of computers and smartphones. Prolonged sitting in a hunched position can lead to physical fatigue of muscles which will put stress on other structures like ligaments, disc and joints surrounding your head, neck and shoulders. This, in turn, reduces blood circulation to the parts of body like muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments leading to neck stiffness, neck pain, headache and pain radiating to one or both arms.
In an upright posture as depicted in Image 1, the head normally weighs 4.5-5.4 kgs but when the head is tilted forward, it increases the additional strain on the neck reaching up to 22.68kgs as depicted in Image 2 and 27.21kgs as depicted in Image 3. The neck is not able to withstand the pressure in this position for a long period of time and it strains the muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments. Recurrent stresses for a prolonged time can lead to degenerative changes later on.
So while using smartphones, maintain a proper posture of head and neck, keep the head upright as in Image 1 and blink your eyes very often to prevent your eyes from dryness.