Headache disorders affect more than three billion people worldwide, while neck pain affects more than 220 million. Together, they are among the leading causes of disability across the globe.
Stress often gets the blame. So do long working hours and poor sleep.
But there may be another contributor hiding in plain sight.
Walk through any café, airport or Metro station in Dubai and you’ll see the same scene repeated hundreds of times every day. Heads tilted down. Shoulders rounded forward. Eyes fixed on a screen.
Healthcare professionals have even given it a name: tech neck.
According to ONE Chiropractic Studio Dubai, a member of the Emirates Chiropractic Association, more than half of the clinic’s last 500 new patients worked in desk-based professions. While office work alone does not cause neck pain, clinicians at the practice say many patients describe remarkably similar routines: long hours at a computer, time spent commuting while looking at a phone, followed by evenings unwinding with another screen.
“We’re seeing fewer people with one dramatic injury and more whose symptoms have gradually built up over months or years,” says Dr. Max Gregor-Smith, DHA licensed chiropractor and founder of ONE Chiropractic Studio Dubai. “It’s rarely one single activity. More often, it’s the accumulation of thousands of hours spent in similar positions.”
More than just bad posture
The average adult now spends several hours each day using a smartphone, in addition to the time already spent working on a computer.
Your head weighs around five kilograms, roughly the weight of a bowling ball. In a healthy posture, the natural curve of the neck balances that weight over the shoulders, helping distribute forces, absorb shock and allow the head to move efficiently.
As the head moves further forward, however, the forces acting on the neck increase significantly. Biomechanical models suggest that at around 60 degrees of forward head posture, the load experienced by the cervical spine can be equivalent to as much as 27 kilograms (60 pounds).
That doesn’t mean checking your phone for a few minutes will damage your neck.
It means that repeating the same posture for hours each day, year after year, may gradually overload the muscles and joints that support it.
Our bodies were built to move
Research into joint immobilisation has consistently shown that when normal movement is lost, changes begin to occur in cartilage, ligaments, the joint capsule and other connective tissues. The encouraging news is that many of these changes can improve when healthy movement is restored before they become longstanding.
That is why movement matters.
There is probably no such thing as a perfect posture that can be held all day. What the body responds to best is regular movement and variation.
Standing up, walking for a few minutes, changing position and breaking up long periods of sitting may be more important than trying to sit perfectly still.
When should you get it checked?
Many people first notice a stiff neck. Others develop headaches, aching shoulders or tightness between the shoulder blades that slowly become part of everyday life.
Because these symptoms often develop gradually, they are easy to dismiss as stress or simply getting older.
If neck pain or headaches are beginning to affect your work, sleep, exercise or quality of life, it is worth seeking a professional assessment. A licensed chiropractor Dubai can help determine whether symptoms are related to joint function, muscular overload, posture or another underlying condition, and recommend the most appropriate treatment.
Technology is not going anywhere.
The challenge is making sure our bodies keep moving while we use them.
– Dr. Max Gregor-Smith is a DHA Licensed Chiropractor, Founder of ONE Chiropractic Studio Dubai