For this week’s Quick Tip, we spoke with Dr. Derick Lajom, DC of Mendyk Chiropractic in Moreno Valley and Perris. Dr. Lajom told us that he used to see many patients who would come in complaining about back pain. In recent years, patients instead complain about neck pain. The reason why? Dr. Lajom claims that this is from a situation called “Tech Neck.” Follow along with his Quick Tip Video below to see what this means and how you can prevent it:
According to Dr. Lajom’s video, your head weighs about 12 pounds. If you stand up straight, your body tends to keep the center of gravity in your body’s core, so your head is nicely balanced. If you lean forward, as one might when they are looking at their phone, your center of gravity moves forward, forcing your neck muscles to work harder. This is demonstrated on a dry erase board by Dr. Lajom in the video above. Because so many patients lean forward to look at their phone every day, Dr. Lajom has notably seen many patients with neck pain, likely for that reason. In other words, our necks are starting to take the brunt of our weight and are forced into doing more work so we can look down at our phones.
So, for his tip today, Dr. Lajom encourages you to bring that one-ounce phone to your 12-pound head instead of the alternative. Of course, this can all become much worse if you’ve been injured in an auto accident. Accidents tend to flare up old injuries or pains, after all. So, if you find yourself experiencing neck pain, especially if you’ve been injured in an accident, be sure to reach out to Dr. Lajom at Mendyk Chiropractic or any of our doctors who work on a lien basis for an evaluation.
