Prevent your kids from becoming Tech Necks, advises Salt Rock chiropractor

Tech neck is a relatively new term describing a person who has a forward, stooped head posture and or rounded shoulders from using technology.

It is a disorder we increasingly find as a result of our usage of cellphones, computers and gaming.

Recent US research indicated that more than 70 percent of school going children suffer from Tech Neck.

As children are still growing, this will negatively affect the shape and growth of their spine, hindering natural development.

Sometimes in children there is no neck pain as such, but Tech Neck can cause headaches and negatively affect concentration and even digestion.

As they get older long-term effects of the spine not developing normally can have severe adverse effects and possibly cause development of chronic pain, headaches and early degenerative disease.

Next month we will talk about early intervention and exercise programmes for children to fix this problem.

With the long school holidays now on, I advise families not to get ‘stuck’ in technology, but to limit screen time to certain times of the day.

Encourage your young kids to:

• Be active outside
• Enjoy nature with challenges such as identifying and collecting plants and insects
• Play in sandpits
• Play hide and seek
• Do gardening
• Home karaoke
• Visit the library.
For older kids:
• Pump up those rugby and soccer balls and get the cricket bats out for some summer garden ‘world cups’
• Get audio books and interesting books for them to read
• Play board and card games
• Bake Christmas goodies (I know it’s messy)
• Go to the beach.

When they do have screen time, watch their posture and adjust their chairs or screens so there is less of the neck stooping forward.

Do not let them lie at weird angles. Adjust sitting positions often and place couches directly in front of the screen. If they are on a cellphone, they can lie on their tummy to read, or if sitting, lift the phone up higher so they do not look down too much.

Tech Neck is quite easy to prevent and correct when you know what to look out for. So be proactive and prevent years of pain in the future.

Dr Tracey Joelson is a chiropractor with 21 years experience working from Eden Health in Salt Rock. She has four children and a special interest in family wellness and children.

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