Do you have Tech neck?

I've got a really important question for you - how much time do you spend texting, emailing from your phone or smart device, flicking through social media, or just generally looking down at your smart devices?

If your answer was a lot, or more than you should and you are suffering from acute neck pain you may be experiencing Tech Neck. Tech Neck is a repetitive strain injury and one that is seen in a growing number of patients.

An increasing number of teens and adolescents are experiencing aggravating muscle pain in their necks, shoulders and occasionally their lower backs. This causes them to be in a lot of pain and they often experience headaches as a result of hunching over their smart devices.

Keep reading…

I'm going to tell you how to reduce the risk of Tech Neck so you can be pain free, whilst enjoying your smart devices and correcting your posture – all at the same time!

So why does it happen?
 

Looking down and dropping your head forward changes the natural curve of your spine and neck. Repetitive misalignment causes muscles to strain and cause wear and tear on the structures of your neck.
 

What can you do if you are already showing the signs and symptoms of Tech Neck?
 

The first and best thing you can do is improve your posture. What we recommend is using these two simple prevention rules:

1. Look forward! Don't tilt your chin down to look at your smart devices, try moving the device up towards eye level, just like your desktop screen should be.
2. Straighten on up! If your posture isn't perfect, try doing shoulder extensions. Arch your neck and upper back backward, pulling your shoulders into alignment under your ears. This simple stretch can alleviate stress and muscle pain

If you are experiencing any symptoms of Tech Neck, the next step is to book in for an assessment to really get to the root of the problem.  We can recommend a series of exercises to help strengthen both your neck and back muscles and devise a treatment plan if needed.

If Tech Neck is preventing you from performing the activities you enjoy or if you believe the way you are using your phone places you at risk of developing neck pain in the future, please call Kinetic Healthcare on (02) 9262 6473 for an appointment.
 

Speak Soon

The team at Kinetic Healthcare

Diagnosed with a slipped disc?

Most people have had or know someone that has been told that they have a ‘Slipped Disc’. 

Lots of  health and medical professionals explain to patients that this has happened but actually don’t explain that its just old terminology. That is,  you physically CANNOT slip the disc in your back. The main two reasons for this are:

1. There is a ligament in the front of your spine (anterior longitudinal ligament) that helps to maintain the structural integrity of your spine. 

2. Another ligament is positioned at the back of your spine (posterior longitudinal ligament) that also maintains the structural integrity of your spin, therefor you disc will never actually slip. 

These two ligaments work with each other to support the spine in forward and backward movements, they prevent the disc slipping out of their positions and popping out. 

What actually can happen is that your disc can get inflamed and in more severe cases get a bulge or even rupture. This  can affect the nerve associated with the disc and cause pain - but remember your disc isn’t slipped!

The key is to work out if it is a disc issue and what caused the the disc issue in the first place. 

It could be because some part of your body is trying to do the job that your unstable back is not doing,  creating an imbalance and compensation. 

Treating the site of pain will work initially however having someone take a 'whole body approach’ will in work out your underlying problem. 

Have been told you have a ‘Slipped Disc'? Book online below and we would be more than happy in checking it out.

3 reasons why you need to stop clenching your jaw

I’m sure you are guilty of this.

You have deadlines to meet, busy work/life schedules and feel like that you have no time on your hands. Your stress levels start to creep up and you begin to clench your jaw. I mean really clench your jaw. Soon enough you may begin to develop headaches, neck pain and that annoying click in your jaw. On the other side of the coin, you notice that you are favouring one side of your body more than the other and 6 months down the track you develop low back pain that has been diagnosed as a disc issue.  

What’s the go? Your jaw (temporamandibular joint TMJ) is one of the most sensory innervated structures in your body. In plain English, it tells your body where it is in space. ‘Where the head goes the body will follow’. With his in mind, if your jaw dysfunction due to over clenching/grinding causes you to stick out your jaw more, it will shift your body forward switching off the chain of muscles in your back. Conversely if you jaw deviates to one side it will make you favour more that side you are deviating to, switching off the other side of your body.

It is not your jaws fault, it just think it is giving you the best chance in stabilising your body. Doing endless amount of  activation for your glutes or ‘core’ will be an absolute waste of time if your jaw is trying to do all the work.

Know where your jaw is positioned.

Think your jaw is the culprit to your body woes?

Book Online below and finally get your body issues sorted. 

Poor Breathing Patterns And Your Pain: The Missing Link

Lets start with a little test. Standing upright and take a big breath in, as much as possible, do it with a group of people to see what everyone else is doing. Did you notice peoples shoulders elevating to the ceiling, there neck muscles straining and not much movement in their stomachs?

Dysfunctional breathing patterns are unfortunately more common due to our sedentary sitting lifestyle and other factors as well. Introducing to you the diaphragm.

This dome shaped muscles sits just above your liver and is responsible for breathing. However due to our poor postures, time poor lifestyle and less than optimum stress control mechanisms, our breathing patterns have taken a hit. It is no wonder then why people now-days are suffering from chronic neck, low back and even jaw pain. No amount of stretching, releasing, prodding or poking your painful areas will fix it. 

Diaphragmatic breathing is advantageous as it is more energy efficient, which means that you will feel less tired and more energized. It will also help regulate your nervous system from a sympathetic state (think of fighting off a saber toothed tiger) to a parasympathetic state (laying on a beach getting your tan on). If you have pain this will also help reduce your pain and control it more effectively.  For the athletes reading this, utilising diaphragmatic breathing will improve your performance by up to 30%.

So now you know the importance of diaphragm breathing, the key is implanting it. A simple and effective way is to lay on your back and place a kettlebell(12 – 16 kg) on your belly. Whilst breathing in through your nose, try to lift the kettle with your belly. The weight will act as a cue to your brain to help use your diaphragm more effectively.

If you have had previous long standing injuries that have not resolved with traditional treatments, diaphragmatic retraining and other rehab-focused exercises used at Kinetic Healthcare may be a solution.

Book online below to get your issues sorted.