Is Social Media the reason why we get neck pain and bad posture?

It definitely doesn’t help! Now in hindsight, there are a number of causes for neck pain, especially if you are working in an office job during the day. Just think about the amount of time every day that you spend with bad posture.

You could run the risk of neck pain just by sleeping in an awkward position or resting your head on a pillow that is too upright or flat. If you have a supportive mattress and pillows, your chances of avoiding this problem are in your favour. Nevertheless, the rest of your day has a number of potential causes waiting just around the corner. For example, sitting at a desk all day with bad posture or not changing positions enough throughout a long period of time just being sat can cause stiffness or strain on the neck. At this point you may have tension in your neck because of just a couple of things you have come across in the morning alone.

You have had a long day. All you want to do is go home, put your feet up and relax for the evening. This is probably the time of day where we all catch up on what we have missed in the rest of the world. This could be by lounging on the sofa watching our favourite TV series on Netflix or the catching up with the news. Maybe you are even just seeing what the latest is with your immediate social circles via Facebook. Unfortunately, spending a great deal of time on our phones or lounging around are not activities where good posture is common. As the nature of mobile technology is quite addictive and we regularly feel the need for other passive activities to relax, such as lounging around, we tend to do them on a daily basis. But over time these activities will have a real effect on our posture.

So neck pain is a common issue. If you want to speed up the recovery process or relieve some of the discomfort there are some things you can do. Most importantly, take care when engaging with activities that could add tension to your problem. Some home remedies you can use are applying ice to the area, which you can apply for the first few days. Do some exercises that gently stretch the muscles in your neck and will relieve some of the pain. You can also apply heat to the affected area. Also, try to be conscious of your posture while you are at work and approach difficult activities that might cause extra strain with care.

If the pain persists beyond a couple of days or you have accompanying symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, lumps or fever (or something of the like that seems concerning), please get in touch with us and book an appointment. Be aware that treatment can be between weeks and even months so it is important that you get the right help for your problem.