Computer Neck

If you're reading this, I would wager that you are probably, at this very moment, slumped forward, developing tension at your occipital ridge (the base of your skull), rounding your shoulders, and collapsing your upper spine forward in the direction of your screen. You may or may not be leaning to one side in order to compensate for one arm being on the ready to use the mouse and/or sinking deeper into one hip than the other.

You're so busted!

Let's face it, no matter what your vocation, you likely spend three or more hours in front of a computer. If your job requires it, you spend even more time. Even if you aren't required by work to be in front of a computer, you there is so much recreational fun to be had. I am right there with you. I spend at least two hours a day coordinating your schedules, communicating with instructors and business partners, and in addition to do love online shopping and a video game or two. I am fortunate enough to have equipment steps away, and while I am not as religious about it as I would like to be, I do often walk 10 feet away from my grunt work and lie back on the spine corrector and open my chest and relax my neck when things get tiresome. Some of you, I'm sure also have the benefit of expensive Herman Miller chairs or those stability ball chairs. Still, all of us slouch, and the more we do it the worse it can get.

What this is creating is something that I call computer neck. You can't usually see it because it's behind you, but often this chronic slouching makes your head pitch forward or your body and the base of your neck sitck out to the back, and that's just the visual. The misuse of your muscles creates an imbalance of the spine that can cause fatigue and headaches and even blurred vision.

Let me tell you why repetitive slouching gets harder to correct the longer that we do it. Our muscles are coated in the thin layer of tissue called fascia. Fascia is a connective tissue that is found throughout the body. Like other structural elements in the body, when stress is applied to it, it thickens. Therefore, extended periods of slouching  can lead the the thickening of the fascia of the muscles holding you in that position. Essentially, it's like when your mom told you not to make ugly faces because you'll freeze that way.  The buildup of the facscia surrounding your body can cause you to "freeze" in that position. You aren't likely to freeze solid, but fascial thickening is one of the reasons why if you have become a chronic sloucher or developed a computer neck that it is tiring to return your body to an upright position. The other reason it is difficult is that you are not habitually using the muscles that hold you upright and they have weakened.

SO, how do we escape this downward spiral before we all look like humpbacked little tired people?

We move.

Two things will help break down fascia that has thickened: massage and movement. So now that I've given you an excuse to go get a massage, know that you should also head down to your friendly neighborhood Pilates studio www.pppilates.com to train those muscles that have fallen out of balance.

You'll find that with a focused diligence, you can rediscover the alignment you had before you had that 9-5  (or for some of you that 24/7) job.