If you continuously suffer from neck pain, then you are certainly not alone. Harvard Medical School estimates that seven in ten people at some point experience neck pain and one in ten people are in pain at any given day. Between 50 to 85% of adults with neck pain will experience a recurrence of the pain within five years. The leading cause of neck pain remains to be weak back and neck posture, especially when we sit too long on our computers or text on our smartphones.

The solution to the neck pain problem is not a quick fix. Pain management and pain relief for neck pain involve a variety of therapies that include chiropractic care and rehabilitation therapy, medication, self-help techniques and, in some cases, surgery. Patients today play a crucial role in their recovery by participating in strengthening and stretching exercises, as well as mind and body therapy.

First, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” There is a significant difference in the cost of fixing a problem versus preventing it. Strengthening your neck and correcting poor postural habits could save you down the road.

The tech neck syndrome is a term that refers to a condition caused by hunching over your phone, tablet or any hand-held device for extended periods with rounded shoulders, a hunched back and forward bent neck. Medically explained, tech neck is a repetitive stress injury caused by bending your head down and forward for long periods. When you hold your head this way, a lot of tension is generated deep in the neck muscles and across the shoulders, which causes acute as well as chronic pain.

According to the Spine Hospital at the Neurological Institute of New York, bending your head 15 degrees forward is as if the head weighed 27 pounds. This is approximately 2.5 times the weight of the average adult head, which weighs 11 pounds. The problem is not simply bending the head forward, but that you bend it forward daily as you scroll on your smartphone.

Symptoms of tech neck appear in any area where pressure is applied to the muscles, nerves and joints. This leads to chronic back pain, which ranges from mild to very severe and regularly pinched nerves. After bending the neck for far too long, you can get tension headaches. A chronic joint strain may also cause an early onset of arthritis, as this stress causes inflammation.

A text neck can also lead to an increased spine curvature, or lead to an upper thoracic deformity called dowager’s hump, which results in bone structure altering of the vertebrae in this area.

Fortunately, there are simple exercises and therapies you can do to prevent or relieve the symptoms of tech neck. If you are concerned about your posture or are experiencing upper back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain and/or headaches contact a healthcare professional to discuss treatment options and therapies. Pro-Motion Chiropractic offers neck strengthening tools to help those suffering from a whiplash injury as well as those preparing to compete in MMA competitions and supplement these tools with therapies designed to relieve your headaches, muscle pain and limited neck motion, so if you need some help, don’t hesitate.

Now that the snow is starting to fall, soon the roads will become a bit more dangerous. There’s nothing like the helpless feeling of sliding towards the car in front of you as your anti-lock brakes shutter and try to gain a grip on the ice beneath you. Whiplash is the most common injury following a car accident and can occur even at very low speeds. Here are some interesting statistics about whiplash that may surprise you.

Whiplash Statistics

Most injuries occur when traveling less than 12 mph
A read-end collision generally causes more damage to the cervical spine than side or frontal collisions do
Whiplash injuries are more severe in women and children because their necks are smaller
Whiplash injuries occur 5 times more often in women than men
Symptoms of whiplash can often appear weeks or months after an accident
In 75% of patients, symptoms of whiplash can last 6 months or longer
Victims of whiplash lose approximately 8 weeks of work
Whiplash injuries occur more often in people 30 to 50 years of age
A whiplash injury can increase your chances of chronic shoulder and neck pain
People suffering from chronic pain due to whiplash injuries often have abnormal psychological profiles
More than 60% of people who have whiplash injuries require long-term medical follow-up
More than 50% of those who have whiplash injuries will still have chronic pain 20 years after the injury
Pre-existing health conditions such as arthritis will lead to greater severity of injury and greater pain

Signs of a Whiplash Injury

After an accident, you are likely to feel some pain and limited ranges of motion. Even if the pain is minimal, it could worsen hours after the crash. Some signs of whiplash can include:

Pain when moving your head side to side
Tenderness
Headaches at the base of the skull
Fatigue
Dizziness
Difficulty sleeping
Memory problems
Tingling or numbness in the arms

Signs and symptoms of whiplash usually develop within 24 hours of the accident, which is why it is crucial to seek medical treatment immediately. If you’ve had an accident please let a professional make sure you are ok. You don’t want to be one of the 50% who has chronic pain 20 years after the injury.