[Kok! Health] No 'Royal Road' to Managing Neck Health Troubled by Smartphones and Work

Most modern people live with neck pain. It can extend upward to the head and back of the skull, and downward to the shoulders and scapula; in severe cases, it can even cause numbness in the fingertips. Recently, there has been an increase in young patients complaining of neck pain. Prolonged smartphone use and poor posture are identified as the main causes. It is important to understand the causes and prevention of diseases that cause neck pain and to correct lifestyle habits.

Sore throat stock photo. [Image source=Clipart Korea]

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The number of patients under 20 visiting hospitals for cervical disc herniation, a representative neck pain condition, increased by about 12% over five years, from 45,911 in 2017 to 51,771 in 2021. Professor Choi Ho-yong of the Department of Neurosurgery at Kangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital explained, "In the past, young patients accounted for about 10-20% based on experience, but now the number has increased. Especially on weekends, young patients seem to make up about half. Although appropriate research has not yet been conducted, it is believed that the main cause is maintaining poor posture due to the widespread use of smartphones. When poor posture becomes a habit, the load on the neck increases."

A normal spine has a gentle S-shaped curve, with the neck and lower back curving backward and the thoracic spine curving forward. Poor posture for the neck means keeping the head bent down for a long time, such as during reading, studying, computer work, or prolonged smartphone use. In such cases, the normal curve gradually straightens and, in severe cases, curves in the opposite direction. The commonly known term "turtle neck" is more of a phenomenon than a diagnosis. It is not a term professionally used in the medical field. The loss of the normal cervical angle is called "kyphotic deformity," and if the deformity is severe, it may require surgical treatment.

Habits to prevent forward head posture in daily life.
[Photo by Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital]

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Repeated poor posture causes tension in the muscles and ligaments surrounding the neck joints. Professor Choi said, "When the ligaments and muscles are stressed in the neck, which should have a natural C-shaped curve, the load on the head is known to increase by six to eight times. Naturally, pain is inevitable." Pain usually first occurs where muscles attach to bones, so the back of the neck or the area where the neck meets the head, especially the back of the skull, is likely to hurt. Pain can also radiate downward to the scapular area, shoulders, and wings of the scapula, and radiating pain causing numbness in the arms may occur.

When visiting a hospital for neck pain, X-rays are generally taken as a basic examination. Afterward, anti-inflammatory analgesics and muscle relaxants are prescribed to control symptoms, and guidance on lifestyle and posture correction is provided. If pain persists for more than 2-3 weeks despite medication and posture adjustment or is severe enough to interfere with daily life, it is advisable to revisit the hospital. At this time, more detailed examinations such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are performed. Most young patients do not have severe conditions. Occasionally, findings of disc herniation or stenosis even at a young age may lead to explanations about the possibility of surgical treatment.

Professor Choi Hoyong of the Department of Neurosurgery at Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital is explaining about neck pain.
[Photo by Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital]

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For immediate symptom control, it is good to use medications such as muscle relaxants or anti-inflammatory analgesics or to massage the muscles. Injection therapy into the muscles can also help. However, these only control pain and do not provide fundamental treatment. The fundamental solution is, of course, posture correction and lifestyle habit correction. Avoid looking down at smartphones for long periods and use them at eye level. It is also good to have the screen slightly above eye level. For office workers, if the monitor is positioned below eye level, it creates poor posture that abnormalizes the neck curve, so it is better to work with the monitor at or above eye level.

Unlike exercises for chest muscles or core muscles, there are no specific exercises solely for strengthening neck muscles. Correcting lifestyle and posture habits will improve the neck condition. Additionally, frequent neck stretching exercises are sufficient. However, neck stretching should not involve twisting the neck to produce cracking sounds or rotating it in a large range. Movements that rotate the neck beyond its normal range can adversely affect the discs and ligament tissues surrounding the neck. Neck stretching should be done very gently, only enough to maintain the normal curve.

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