Spending hours looking down at your phone or sitting at a computer could be contributing to more than just poor posture. A Houston-area physical therapist says everyday habits could be behind persistent neck, jaw and head pain.
Dr. Christina Garcia-Ramirez with Elevated PT says spinal alignment plays an important role in how muscles are lengthened and shortened. Staying in the same position for hours at a time can put added strain on the body and potentially lead to long-term damage.
One common culprit is looking down at your phone with your head pushed forward.
Garcia-Ramirez says you don’t necessarily have to hold your phone directly at eye level all day. Instead, she recommends being mindful of your head and neck position and practicing a chin tuck to help keep your head aligned with your spine.
“I want you to think about having a chin tuck. I don’t want to be looking at it with my head jutting forward like this,” Garcia-Ramirez said. “What I do want to do is strengthen these muscles here in the front, tighten these muscles to pull my head back so my head is more in alignment with my spine.”
Your workstation setup can also make a difference.
Garcia-Ramirez recommends positioning the top of your computer screen at eye level. She also says your eyes naturally read a screen at about a 30-degree angle, rather than looking straight ahead.
But correcting posture is only part of the solution.
Garcia-Ramirez says physical therapy should also focus on helping patients identify the everyday habits contributing to their pain.
“We don’t just like to get you out of pain; we like to show you habit changes you should be making and stretches you should be doing, but really it comes down to those habit changes,” she said.
Making small adjustments to how you use your phone and sit at your desk can help reduce strain and prevent pain from becoming a bigger problem.
