avoid ‘text-neck’

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Researchers in the UK used computer analysis to show that texting while walking causes hunched posture, loss of balance, and an inability to walk in a straight line.

Heh! I’m sure you didn’t need science to tell you that.

Anyone who texts is familiar with the ‘forward and down’ head posture. This posture can add 30 pounds of extra weight to the delicate neck vertebrae.

How to avoid text neck

Discover the joint where your head and neck join. This joint, called the atlanto occiptal joint, is located between your ears at the level of the roof of your mouth.

  • You can find it by nodding yes
  • You can free it by imagining a little bit of oil in the joint
  • You can freeze it by imagining a little bit of cement in the joint

Now imagine adding some oil. See how smoothly and lightly you can nod your head without pushing your neck forward.

Take a hold of your phone. But wait! Keep it down by your side. Notice your impulse to crouch down.

Pause.

Think up, as though you had an arrow pointing from the crown of your head to the sky. Rotate your palms forward, so your thumbs are sticking out away from your body. To bring your phone up to eye level, bend your elbows. To see the screen, nod your head gently at the atlanto occipital joint. Think up, and tell your neck to stay relaxed.

Now you’re ready to text!

If you can’t figure this out on your own, any Alexander Teacher worth her salt would be happy to help you. You can find a teacher in the US at:
http://www.amsatonline.org/teachers

References:

Texting and Walking: Strategies for Postural Control and Implications for Safety, Published: January 22, 2014. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084312

Descent of man: how texting stops us walking tall   [Retrieved Jan 25, 2014]