In this blog I want to address a condition that I see all to often and it creates neck and shoulder discomfort for many people. As a massage therapist I work on clients with this condition almost daily. This condition is Upper Cross Syndrome and is starting to be known as “Cell Phone Neck”.
By Sean Devine
With our society using cell phones more and more people having sedentary jobs, our neck position has been declining. You are probably wondering “Well how does this happen and how does it affect my lifestyle?” Good question and here’s the answer. Our body is built for a certain posture so our bones and muscles are supposed to be in specific places. So when we keep our bodies, the neck in this case, in an unnatural position the body has to adapt. The farther away from the natural position of your head in reference to your shoulders the harder the muscles have to work to keep it upright. The muscles that are being put through this extra work are the Suboccipitals, Upper Traps and the Levator Scapula. These muscles become tight and start creating pain and discomfort. The pecs become tight because they are staying in a shortened state for long periods. All this tension and shortness of muscle fibers create pain and discomfort. The good news is that massage, along with proper stretching and exercising, can counter a lot of this dysfunction and get you back to your neutral position.