Are you always using your phone and have you become a "head-down tribe"? These 3 actions can help you avoid "phone neck"

Editor's note: Every day when eating, working, and commuting, many people cannot do without their mobile phones. They have unknowingly become "head-down tribe". What can we do about this? How can we save ourselves from "mobile phone neck"?

The trapezius muscle has the final say in saving "cell phone neck"

Many girls envy others’ “straight-angled shoulders” and slender “swan necks”, but for the “head-down tribe”, they can only get further and further away from the perfect shoulder and neck lines.

There are more unspeakable secrets, constantly reminding you that life is difficult:

1. Whenever you turn your neck, you hear a "cracking" sound (stiff neck and shoulder muscles)

2. Want to nod, tilt your head, or turn your head at will? Difficult! (The cervical curvature becomes straight)

3. Whether looking straight ahead or walking, the neck will be stretched unsightly

4. The already short neck becomes even shorter (always leaning forward to stare at the screen will shorten the neck muscles)

5. Your cheeks and chin relax faster (more gravity, causing sagging jaws, sagging cheeks, etc.)

Have you encountered the above situation? Why not take action quickly? The most urgent thing is to save your "mobile phone neck" and let all organizations get along happily. How to save it? The trapezius muscle under the neck is crucial.

The trapezius muscle extends from our neck all the way down to the middle back, like a beautiful shawl. According to the direction of its muscle fibers, it is divided into three bundles: upper, middle, and lower. Its function is simply to help us twist our shoulder blades, shrug, retract our shoulders, straighten our backs, etc. in daily activities. When you lower your head, the upper trapezius muscle bears the weight of the entire head and is forced to remain stretched for a long time. In addition, if it is not strong to begin with, it is like a thin person carrying dozens of pounds of weight every day and not getting a rest. Over time, it is easy to cause muscle stiffness and imbalance between related muscles, which will eventually lead to shoulder and neck strain and pain. If you keep your chest down for a long time, the shoulder blades will press down on the chest cavity, and the lower trapezius muscle and other muscle groups in the back will not "participate in work" for a long time. Over time, the muscles in the back will become weaker, forming round shoulders and hunchbacks.

These 3 actions can relieve the burden on the shoulders and neck

Now that you know the trapezius muscle, the next step is to understand it and see what it likes and dislikes. The following 3 movements, if done well, can effectively "mobilize" the trapezius muscle and reduce the burden on your shoulders and neck!

Action 1: Relaxation

Action breakdown:

First, drop one shoulder and stretch your head in the opposite direction, looking straight ahead, and hold for a few seconds.

Then rotate your neck and look diagonally upward, stretching while rotating, and hold for a few seconds.

Then retract your jaw, look diagonally downward, and hold for a few seconds.

Don't underestimate this set of movements, it can really stretch and relax the upper, middle and lower parts of the trapezius muscle.

Action 2: Elbow around shoulder

Action breakdown:

We first sit firmly on our sitting bones and place our fingers on our shoulders, keeping them level.

Pull your elbows forward and touch your elbows together.

Make circles with your elbows upwards, inhale through your nose, keep your ribs tight, maintain your strength, and do not push forward, let the backs of your hands meet behind your head.

Point your elbows down, exhale as you say the word "drink", and relax.

When doing this movement, the neck is always upward and the strength of the shoulders is always downward, so that the neck can be better extended.

Action 3: Surrender

Action breakdown:

Raise your hands flat, bend your elbows, and spread your fingers.

Exhale downward, sink your shoulder blades, push downward, and repeat several times.

These three actions can be regarded as the "secrets to protecting your neck". Do them every day and change the habit of lowering your head.

Tips: If you keep looking at your phone, make wolfberry and conch soup

People who work in front of computers or mobile phones for a long time or stay up late often can drink some wolfberry, dendrobium and conch soup, which has good effects of nourishing the spleen and qi, nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, nourishing the liver and kidneys, improving essence and eyesight, and promoting fluid production and moistening dryness.

Specifically: take 15 grams of wolfberry, 10 grams of earring dendrobium, 1 carrot (about 150 grams), 1 iron stick yam (about 250 grams), 3 red dates, 3 slices of ginger, 1000 grams of conch (250 grams of conch meat), 250 grams of pork ribs. Soak the conch in boiling water, take out the meat, wash and cut into pieces (the conch meat is first soaked in warm water for 4 hours and washed); wash the pork ribs, cut into small pieces, put them in boiling water for a while, take them out and rinse off the blood foam; soak the earring dendrobium in warm water; peel and wash the iron stick yam and carrots, cut into thick pieces; wash the wolfberry and remove impurities; split the red dates and remove the core; wash and slice the ginger. Put all the prepared ingredients in a casserole, add 2.5 liters of water and a little white wine, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours, and season with refined salt.

In the recipe, wolfberry is good at nourishing the liver and kidney, improving eyesight, moistening the lungs and quenching thirst; dendrobium officinale is good at benefiting the stomach and producing fluid, nourishing yin and clearing away heat, benefiting the liver and kidney and improving eyesight, and strengthening the tendons and bones; carrots are good at strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, nourishing the liver and improving eyesight, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough; yam can nourish the spleen and lungs, nourish the stomach and produce fluid, and nourish the kidneys and astringe the essence; conch meat clears away heat and improves eyesight; pork ribs benefit the kidneys and nourish yin, replenish qi and nourish blood, and produce fluid and moisten dryness.

(Source: National Health Commission WeChat official account "Healthy China", Life Times)