More and more technology is invading our world and it is starting to cause us spinal problems. immobility of the spine causes multiple problems for the spine and our health but is your phone and computer contributing to your headaches? According to eMarketer the daily average for a American is 5 hours and 53 minutes spent on digital media and 3 hours and 17 minutes on a mobile device for non-voice activities. This is causing a increase in not only headaches but also neck pain and even pain in the shoulder joints, upper and lower back. When we cause disfunction of our spine in one region of our body we will inevitably cause issues throughout our whole spine if we do not fix it quickly. What causes Tech neck and how do we fix it. If you dont read this whole blog I have to start with the first and most important solution. Movement! The body is not meant to be immobile and when left immobile issues arise.  When we spend hours at our computer or on our phone we place stress on smaller muscles that are not meant to hold posture for extended periods of time. As these muscles start to fatigue the head will move forward as will the shoulders. The upper back will develop a increased curvature and the lower back will flatted out. This places a increased pressure on the spinal discs in the lower back and upper back as well as excess tension on muscles of the upper neck. These muscle are meant for movement of the neck and when we place our ten pound head at a 45 degree angle it is putting 50 pounds of force on these muscles. I should also mention these muscles have both nerves and arteries traveling through them. So you now have a decreased blood supply to the brain, nerves are being squeezed and the entire spine is not moving properly because it is trying to maintain a balanced center of gravity with your head inches forward of where it should be. How can this be fixed? The easy solution is to limit your time with electronics or any activity that keeps the head forward flexed but that it not possible for a lot of people reading this on a electronic device. Make sure to use a ergonomic friendly desk. This means that your screen is at eye level you have good lumbar support the elbow are at 90 degree angles and feet are comfortable on the floor and your thighs are parallel with the ground if not on a slight downward angle. I know I know you were thinking this would be all about the neck but when handling the spine we have to consider the whole spine in order to keep it healthy an that is what we are doing here. Now that you have good work posture you still have to move. Getting up and moving at least twice an hour will help keep the blood flowing and your neck relaxed. It is a good idea to stretch a little bit when you get up too. If we follow these tips we can help to reduce the prevalence of tension headaches and tech neck issues.