Children’s Spine Health — Understanding the Impacts of Technology

For parents, we know that there is a lot to understand when it comes to your children and their overall health and wellbeing. With the incorporation of technology both inside and outside the classroom, along with the recent need to shift toward virtual learning, it’s important to consider their spine health in relation to these different types of technology. 

From poor desk posture to the challenges that come with children using smartphones and tablets, make sure you understand the impact this technology can have on their spine health. Our team of chiropractors at Senara Health and Healing Center & Spa in Peoria are here to provide additional support for you and your family. Request an appointment at Senara today.

Smartphones

According to a study done by Pew Research Center in 2015, the typical teenager can receive and send an average of 30 texts a day. With the shift to at-home learning and the reduction in social events, this number could be much higher as teens try to stay in touch with the friends they’re seeing less frequently. 

But when your child is bending their neck down to look at their smartphone, that position can cause more serious neck and back problems. Like we touched on in our computer desk posture blog, the best neck position is to sit at eye level from the screen — a position that is much harder to maintain with a smartphone. 

On average, the human head weighs between 10 and 12 pounds. So when your child is tilting their head down to look at their phone, that weight is being absorbed by the neck muscles. Over time, this takes a toll on the strength of those muscles as they overexert energy to support your head. 

Text Neck

With the increasing presence of smartphones, text neck has become more common. This term is used to describe neck pain resulting from damage caused by looking down at a smartphone. From a stiff neck to upper back and shoulder pain, text neck can start to cause other problems over time. 

Whether your teen is starting to experience symptoms of text neck, or you’re worried that their smartphone use might put them at risk in the future, there are ways to help reduce or prevent text neck. Encourage your child to use a monitor or laptop over a smartphone when they’re completing a big project. If they like to spend time browsing social media sites on their smartphone, help them find a position where their neck is supported and the phone is at eye level. You can also meet with a chiropractor for an adjustment to help reduce text neck or help prevent it in the first place.

Computer Time

While we’ve already touched heavily on proper computer desk posture in our previous blog, it’s still a piece of technology that has an impact on your child’s spine health. Although technology has opened the doors to new forms of exploration and learning, sitting in one position at a computer can have long-term effects on your child’s spine health. 

Encourage them to better understand the importance of good desk posture. And, when possible, find ways to get them moving around or taking breaks between their work on the computer. This will alleviate some of the strain on their neck and back, and give their body some time to stretch. 

Work With Our Senara Chiropractor Today

At Senara, we know that technology is here to stay — which means that the problems we’re seeing with computer posture and smartphones aren’t short-term. We also know that, as a parent, it can be near impossible to get your child or teen to stop looking down at their phone. 

That’s where our chiropractor comes in. Help your child or teen prioritize their posture and spine health. Meet with our chiropractic team so we can assess their posture and see how their use of technology is impacting their spine health.

Request an appointment with our chiropractor at Senara Health and Healing Center & Spa in Peoria for your whole family today. And, while you’re on our blog, learn more about spine health and your children in our previous posts: