Looking down at your phone every day = your cervical spine is "supporting" more than 50 kilograms of rice!

Li Bing (pseudonym), 19 years old, doesn't like sports and is a typical otaku. His only hobby is playing games on his mobile phone. He plays for four to five hours at a time. If he has a day off on Saturdays and Sundays, he plays even longer.

Recently, he began to experience symptoms such as dizziness, chest tightness, and neck pain. He thought that the symptoms would be relieved after a rest, but not only did they not improve, they became more severe, and he even vomited.

So, he went to the hospital for a check-up and found out that he was suffering from severe "cervical deformity" and cervical degenerative disease, with the cervical curvature becoming reversed.

Chen Yang (pseudonym), 25, is an online shop owner. His shop is usually very busy and full of orders every day. He is usually on his phone 24 hours a day, always looking down at his phone to take orders, reply to messages, and process orders.

Recently, he stretched himself, moved his neck, and raised his head out of fatigue, but suddenly collapsed to the ground.

After going to the hospital for a CT scan, it was confirmed that the paralysis was caused by cervical spinal cord injury.

Doctors warn that looking down at your phone for a long time can not only easily lead to physiological curvature of the spine and vertebral artery dissection, but also induce a series of cervical spine diseases, and in severe cases may even cause paralysis.

It is best for people who are addicted to their phones not to play with them for a long time, let alone to stay in one position for a long time.

It is recommended that you stand up and move around every thirty to forty minutes to relax your neck muscles.

Cervical spondylosis, also known as cervical syndrome, is a clinical syndrome caused by compression of the vertebral artery, nerves, spinal cord and other parts by cervical disc herniation and adjacent soft tissue.

Relevant survey data show that the incidence rate of cervical spondylosis in China is 17.3%. This data has broken the impression that cervical spondylosis is a "label exclusive to the elderly" and has begun to gradually become younger. More and more young people in their 20s go to the hospital to see a doctor for cervical spondylosis, and the youngest is only about 10 years old.

"Cell phone neck" has become a global disease that plagues modern people, and cervical spondylosis is the "public enemy number one" of modern people!

The human cervical spine is like the mast of a sailboat, and the muscles that control the movement of the cervical spine are like the ropes that fix the mast. If there is a problem with the rear rope, the mast will naturally be unstable.

Under normal circumstances, the muscles that control the four directions of the cervical spine are in a state of dynamic balance. When the head is lowered repeatedly for a long time, causing the center of gravity of the head to move forward, the muscles behind the neck are overloaded because they need to pull the head forward.

The muscle balance is disrupted and chronic strain occurs. Over time, the cervical curvature changes and cervical spondylosis occurs.

The European Spine Society once issued a warning: looking down at your phone or computer for a long time is equivalent to carrying a 50-pound weight on your neck.

When you lower your head to 0 degrees: the cervical spine will bear about 4-5 kg ​​of pressure.

When you lower your head 15 degrees: the cervical spine will bear about 12 kilograms of pressure.

When you lower your head 30 degrees: the cervical spine will bear about 18 kg of pressure.

When you lower your head 45 degrees: the cervical spine will bear about 22 kilograms of pressure.

When you lower your head 60 degrees: the cervical spine will bear about 27 kg of pressure.

It is no exaggeration to say that when we look down at our mobile phones, the pressure on our cervical spine is equivalent to having a 7-8 year old child riding on our neck, or hanging two heavy watermelons.

If we work hard in front of computers and mobile phones for a long time, we will be "targeted" by cervical spondylosis!

1

Frequent dizziness

Dizziness often occurs when the neck moves, especially when the head turns suddenly. In mild cases, it will heal in a few seconds, while in severe cases, it may last for several days or longer.

2

Numbness and weakness in fingers, soreness in shoulders

The most common symptoms of cervical spondylosis in daily life for people at high risk are mostly due to long-term bowing of the head, which causes stress on the neck and leads to strain of the posterior cervical muscles, ligaments and other tissues, and excessive fatigue of the neck and shoulder muscles. Over time, this causes degenerative changes in the neck and stimulation of the nerve roots.

3

Repeated "stiff neck"

Due to strain on the soft tissues of the neck, the function of maintaining the stability of the cervical joints is lost, which is clinically called "cervical instability". It tends to recur naturally after rest and aggravated by fatigue or cold.

Repeated stiff neck is a sign of cervical spondylosis.

4

Frequent migraines, nausea, tinnitus, chest tightness

Due to staying in one posture for a long time, the neck muscles will suffer from persistent spasmodic contraction, which will disrupt the blood circulation of the muscles. Over time, it will cause neck degeneration, ligament calcification, etc., leading to symptoms caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain or sympathetic nerve dysfunction.

The relationship between spinal disease and other diseases

1

The relationship between cervical spondylosis and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

In recent years, scholars at home and abroad have realized that cervical spondylosis is one of the causes of common abnormal blood pressure in middle-aged and elderly people, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, cerebral ischemic diseases, etc.

2

Relationship between cervical spondylosis and nervous system diseases

More than 80% of neurasthenia patients suffer from cervical spondylosis, and more than 90% of cervical spondylosis patients have various symptoms of neurasthenia, of which vertebral artery type accounts for 100%. Therefore, preventing cervical spondylosis can prevent and treat neurasthenia.

3

The relationship between cervical (thoracic and lumbar) spondylosis and digestive system diseases

Lesions of the cervical and thoracic spine are closely related to gastroptosis, ulcer disease, gastrointestinal dysfunction, gastrospasm, cholecystitis, and cholelithiasis, while lesions of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine are particularly closely related to functional colon diseases and pelvic diseases.

How to prevent spinal disease

1

Maintain correct sitting posture

The best way to prevent cervical spondylosis is to put down your mobile phone and avoid keeping your neck in a lowered position for too long; and maintain a correct sitting and standing posture. Whether sitting, lying or standing, it is best to maintain a "central and stretched" posture, with the head, neck, waist and back straight, the head straight, and the shoulders symmetrical.

2

Pay attention to cervical vertebrae insulation

Avoid getting your neck cold, including sweating, getting caught in the rain, being directly exposed to wind and cold, etc. A cold cervical spine can cause local muscle and blood vessel contraction, leading to local blood circulation disorders.

3

Neck pillow method

Lie on your back, fold the bath towel and roll it into a cylindrical shape and place it under your neck. Pay attention to adjusting the height of the pillow. On the one hand, the curvature of the cervical spine should be padded out, so that there is a sense of support under the neck; on the other hand, the back of the head cannot leave the bed.

Do it once a day for 30 minutes to 1 hour each time, and avoid doing it for too long. This method helps restore the physiological curvature of the cervical spine.

4

Avoid excessive neck movement

It is good to have active exercise and prevention awareness, but if the method is inappropriate or excessive exercise is used, it may aggravate neck discomfort and even lead to cervical spondylosis.

When doing neck exercises (such as the rice character exercise), be gentle and avoid using excessive force. Do it 1 to 2 times a day until your head, neck, and shoulders feel light and comfortable. There is no need to deliberately increase the intensity of exercise.

5

Neck muscle strengthening exercises

Swimming, playing badminton, table tennis, flying kites, etc. are suitable exercises for exercising the neck muscles and can effectively prevent cervical spondylosis.

Learn the neck health exercises

01

first step

Cross your hands and place them behind your head, with your head tilted back and your hands forward to counteract each other's strength.

The jaw is in a naturally relaxed position and the head is in an upright neutral position, not lying on your back.

The force of the confrontation should be about 30% of your arm strength, and each confrontation should last 10 to 15 seconds.

Then relax for a while, and then do a 10 to 15 second confrontation exercise. Repeat 3 to 5 times as a course of treatment.

02

Step 2

Place your hand on one side of your head, so that your head and your hand can resist each other's force. During the resistance process, keep your head in an upright neutral position.

During the confrontation, you should feel your neck muscles contract and tighten significantly.

Use the same method to switch your hand to the opposite side and perform the opposite-side confrontation exercise.

03

Step 3

Extend your arms on both sides, spread your palms with fingers and lean forward against the wall. Also lean your head, shoulders, hips and heels against the wall. Contract your muscles forcefully so that your shoulders and head are pressed against the wall.

04

Step 4

Shrug your shoulders from front to back (remember: not from back to front) until your shoulder joints and the muscles behind your neck and back feel obvious movement.

However, while doing this, the head must remain in a neutral position and avoid tilting forward.

05

Step 5

Put your hands behind your back, first use one hand to pull the wrist of the opposite hand toward the same side to exercise the shoulder and back muscles on the opposite side.

Alternate between hands, keeping your head in a neutral position.

Friendly reminder

When using your phone, remember to keep your head up and chest out, and hold the phone at eye level. Of course, it is best not to use your phone for a long time.

Source of this article: pexels (delete for infringement)