DR. LISA GOODMAN, DC, CCSP, CACCP

The last time I was at the airport, I looked up on the train to the terminal and nearly every person was on their cell phone. The only people who weren’t were wrangling children. Every other person was staring at their screen. We all have heard that this can lead to ‘text neck’ and that it is ‘bad for your eyes’ to stare at a screen all day. However, did you know that smartphone use is also leading to major pain in our arms, hands, necks and backs?

I’ll explain these conditions and how to prevent them, but first, a confession: despite being a chiropractor who specializes in posture and joint health, I use my phone constantly. Whether for social media, work, or family, I often find myself scrolling through feeds just like anyone else. I share this because I understand the challenge firsthand. While our device use may not decline, we can take proactive steps to protect our physical health from the strain.

How Phone Use Damages Your Body

Arm and hand pain

Smartphones are surprisingly heavy, and holding them for long periods strains the muscles and joints in your hands and arms. This repetitive stress is linked to painful conditions like “iPhone elbow” (lateral epicondylitis), carpal tunnel syndrome, and thumb tendonitis. Spending hours scrolling with your palm up and your elbow bent at a fixed angle can lead to chronic pain from your fingers all the way to your shoulder.

Neck pain and headaches

Let’s do a little exercise. Grab your phone and open it to your favorite app. Now freeze. Take inventory of your body posture. Is your head bent forward to look down at your phone? Or is your head facing straight ahead with your phone up at your eye level? Most people I observe lower their heads to check their phone and bend the elbow at a 90 degree angle to hold it up. This leads to terrible neck pain, headaches and even upper back pain. And to make matters worse, if this is a constant habit for you, your neck is slowly remodeling into a new shape. Our necks are meant to curve up and back, but our phones are creating necks that curve down and forward. Over time this will lead to chronic pain and inability to completely straighten.

Addressing the Issue

Use your phone less frequently

The quickest and maybe the hardest fix is to use your phone less frequently. That is definitely easier said than done. Here are some quick everyday tips to help minimize your screentime.

• Limit your sessions to 5-10 minute increments a few times a day to avoid the trap of constant scrolling.

• Evaluate your notifications; interestingly, silence can sometimes cause us to check our screens more often just to see if we missed a text or a like, so find the balance that keeps you off your phone.

• Charge your device across the room or in a different space at night to eliminate scrolling before sleep or immediately upon waking.

• Keep your phone tucked away entirely while dining out or spending time with friends to remain truly present.

Change your phone posture

• Rather than bringing your face to your phone, try bringing your phone up to your face so you are looking ahead rather than down

• Never hold your phone if you are using it to watch a video, movie or show. Prop your phone on a table using an extended pop socket or other holder

• Switch up which hand holds your phone

• Scroll, swipe and tap with alternating fingers or thumbs

• Support your arm whenever possible on a table, couch arm, or even your own knee when sitting when using your phone.

How do I treat the damage I’ve already done?

At home:

• Ice! You can help control the inflammation with ice

• Wrist roller – mini foam rollers are helpful

• Stretching: Stretch your arm out in front of you, pull fingers towards yourself. Turn wrist down, pull your fingers down and towards yourself

At your Sports Chiro office (that’s us!):

• Chiropractic adjustment of joints of the wrist, elbow and shoulder decreases compression and improves mobility resulting is less pain and better function

• Using manual therapy like the Graston Technique can help break up scar tissue, reducing pain and improving the health of the wrist and forearm

• Kinesiology tape like RockTape can decrease inflammation and provide support during activity, sports and work

• Deep tissue massage therapy helps mobilize inflammation and retrain supportive muscles, also decreasing pain

Pain created by smartphone use accumulates and becomes worse the more we use our phones. The best solution is to use your phone less. And as a bonus…your mental health, sleep and social relationships may also improve! I no longer reach for my phone every time I am in the back of an Uber in a new city. I sit back, focus on some relaxing breathing and take in my surroundings. Most of the time whatever is on your phone can wait until you are in a controlled environment, where your phone is propped on an eye level surface and you can spend 10 minutes catching up.