Text Neck: a Real Medical Condition [Video]

Have you heard the term "Text Neck"?  If you haven't heard of this before, you'll start hearing about it more and more and more people embrace the act of texting on cel phones.  This is a new syndrome coined in 2008 by Dr. Dean Fishman, who claims he originally saw this condition while examining a 17-year-old patient. The teen came in complaining of headaches and neck pain. As Fishman was trying to explain to the patient's mother exactly what the problem was, he glanced over and witnessed the patient's posture. She was sitting in a chair, hunched over her smartphone, texting away.  "I knew I had something," Fishman says.   Dr. Fishman even went so far as to create the Text Neck Institute (sounds silly doesn't it?)  and of course there's a mobile app to help you remember to avoid forward head posture. Meanwhile, Dr. Michelle Collie, director of Performance Physical Therapy in Rhode Island, says she started seeing patients with head, neck and back pain caused by mobile devices six or seven years ago. Recently she says Text Neck has increased dramatically, especially among her younger patients who spend an average of seven and a half hours a day in the position.

So beware you texters out there!  Do you really want to end up looking like a hunched over old person when you're young?  Let's be proactive.  Here are some great stretches for better posture. Enjoy!