Tech pain: what is it?

The average American is now said to spend up to 23 hours a week texting, typing, sending e-mails and engaging with social media. An entire day out of the week devoted to screens, keyboards and all the stress that comes with them. Whether it is part of your job, or part of your lifestyle, you may be familiar with the physical pain and discomfort that evolves out of your habits. 

• Muscle stiffness and soreness
• Lower back pain
• Gamer’s thumb and sore fingers
• Text neck
• Tension headaches 
• Eye strain 

…the list just goes on. Because technology is so far from nature, almost all of our interactions with it are going to be unnatural and therefore difficult for our body to manage. We therefore have to be proactive about protecting our bodies against the incursions of tech pain. Here’s how:

Preventing tech pain the natural way

Here’s what we see as the wrong way of going about things: waiting until your technology habits catch up and cause severe neck, finger and back pain, and regular headaches and then doing something about it. This is the reactive way that involves you desperately seeking solutions to relieve a desperate level of pain. 

At OFW Chiropractic, we work with all the members of our community to create individualized solutions for individual lifestyles. If you live a tech-heavy life, then you will simultaneously need a spine-care plan that looks out for body against the incursions of tech pain. This includes proactivity in the following areas:

• Stretching and strengthening
• Spinal adjustments
• Trigger point therapy
• Soft-tissue therapy 
• Office ergonomics
• Lifestyle adjustments like diet and posture 
• Proper interaction with your devices

It is easy to be lazy and ignore these tenets until your devices have taken a toll on your spine. We don’t want this to be your reality- give our office in Westwood a call to schedule an appointment and start looking out for your spine against tech pain today.