This action you often do may allow your neck to support the weight of four more heads?

If you are reading this article, please think back first: What is the posture you often maintain every day?

Sitting for a long time? Crossing your legs? Looking down? These three actions are the standard of modern people! Watching the computer during the day and the mobile phone at night!

Not only will your eyes feel tired, but your neck will also suffer!

Come, test the health of your cervical spine with me: tilt your head back slightly → turn it as far to the left as you can → then turn it right.

If you feel neck pain, stiffness, or even a crackling sound, it means that your cervical spine has started to have problems. But don't worry, these minor problems are just a reminder to you. Among the 10 levels of cervical spondylosis, pain and stiffness are only level one. If you feel numbness or a feeling of walking on cotton, you should be alert!

Check the following grading table to see which level you belong to?

The cervical spine is in a special position. It supports the heavy head on top and forms a heavy cross with the shoulders below. Once injured, it will cause a chain reaction and affect the health of the whole body:

70% of headaches are neck related;

Cervical spine problems causing dizziness;

Cervical spondylosis can cause breathing difficulties;

Cervical misalignment leading to cervical-thoracic syndrome;

…

In fact, we all know which daily behaviors are most harmful to the cervical spine, such as looking down at the phone for a long time, sitting at a desk for a long time to work or study, Ge You's posture, too high pillow, etc. Let's take the most common example of looking down at the phone to see what our cervical spine is going through and how to protect it?

Friends, your neck hurts after looking at your phone for a long time, right? It's because your neck is being tortured: an adult's head generally weighs about 10 pounds, and when you look down at your phone, the weight on your cervical spine will increase significantly. The greater the forward angle, the greater the load:

When leaning forward 15°, the cervical spine load is about 24 catties

When leaning forward 30°, the cervical spine load is about 36 catties

When leaning forward 60°, the cervical spine load reaches 54 catties

It's like having 4 and a half extra heads on your neck!!!

Under such heavy pressure, the muscles and ligaments of the neck are the first to change. The muscles are under tension for a long time and begin to become weaker and weaker, while the ligaments begin to become stiff, which leads to joint deformation. The cervical spine also gradually straightens from the original "C" shape, and even reverses to lordosis and becomes "ɔ" shape, which eventually compresses the bone marrow, nerves and blood vessels, causing a series of symptoms such as shoulder and neck pain, upper limb numbness, headache and dizziness, and even difficulty breathing.

Cervical spondylosis is a chronic degenerative disease. From a pathological perspective, it cannot be cured and there is no immediate treatment, so prevention is the key.

The key to prevention is to maintain the physiological curvature of the cervical spine:

Reduce time spent looking down

When you lower your head to play with your mobile phone, work at a desk, read a book, play mahjong, or play chess, you can consciously raise your head and move your shoulders and neck.

Improve bad posture

Crossing your legs, stretching your neck forward, hunching your back, sitting only on the front 1/3 of the chair, lying on the table for a nap... These bad postures are equivalent to giving the protruding cervical spine a reaction force. The cervical spine needs to resist your reaction force to maintain its physiological curvature, which will involve the ligaments and muscles around the cervical spine. Over time, it will damage the cervical spine.

Correct sitting posture: sit with your buttocks fully on the chair, your waist against the backrest, and your eyes looking straight at the computer screen.

Correct standing posture: move the body's center of gravity forward to the soles of the feet, keep the waist straight, chest naturally up, push the back of the head upward, look straight ahead, and slightly retract the lower jaw, which is what we usually call keeping the head up and the chest out.

Choosing the right pillow and mattress

How much influence does a suitable pillow have on the cervical spine? A pillow that is too high can easily cause dizziness and hypoxia, a pillow that is too low can easily affect breathing, a pillow that is too hard can easily cause a stiff neck, and a pillow that is too soft can affect blood circulation. A suitable pillow is helpful in relaxing the muscles and ligaments at the back of the neck and eliminating fatigue.

Therefore, the principle of choosing a pillow is: the length should be 10-15cm longer than your shoulder width; after being compressed, it should be equal to or slightly lower than the height of your fist. However, everyone's cervical curvature is different, so it cannot be generalized. Based on this standard, you can try a few pillows. As long as you sleep well, it is suitable.

At the same time, the right mattress is also very important. If it is too hard, the cervical spine will be suspended, and if it is too soft, the cervical spine will be excessively tilted forward, which will cause discomfort. What is the selection standard? Go to a furniture store and try it out. Choose one that is moderately soft and hard, and you will feel comfortable.

If the mattress at home becomes concave in the middle and higher at both ends after sleeping on it for a period of time, it is best to replace this mattress in time. Because when you sleep on it, the head is higher than the body. Over time, it will cause tension in the shoulder and neck muscles, which may aggravate cervical spondylosis.

Lying on your side: Lie your head and neck on your side on a pillow, bend your knees slightly, and place a soft pillow under your waist or knees to completely relax your spine.

Supine position: Put your head on the pillow, keeping your head and neck on the pillow. You can put a soft pillow under your waist or knees to ensure that the spine is in a relaxed state.

Do more cervical spine exercises

Finally, daily health care is equally important, such as doing cervical exercises during work breaks or lunch breaks to relieve stiff cervical vertebrae.

Source: Doctor Youlai