Every generation has a disease associated with the habits they practice most frequently. If for years the first gamers were affected by carpal tunnel syndrome, now the ailment that most worries those included in the alpha generation is tech neck or “technological neck”.

It refers to the appearance of premature signs of aging in the lower back, due to the body posture that most people adopt when looking at a mobile device. An involuntary movement that, on average, is completed between 100 and 150 times a day.

It all comes from tilting your neck slightly downward in a long pose, which causes fine lines, creases, and sagging. It is then when the need arises for a specific treatment that helps to minimize its effect.

When bending down to look at the cell phone on public roads or in the bus, grooves (known as Venus necks) are produced that are marked in a more accentuated way. And not only the posture influences, it also does the blue light they emit the devices and that damages the skin.

The main symptoms of tech-neck consist of a muscle disorder It affects the spine and increases neck tension and shoulder stiffness. The curious thing is that it increases wrinkles, folds and sagging in one of the most delicate areas of the body.

Blue light has the ability to penetrate the skin, even further than UV rays, creating free radicals and breaking cell structures. The most direct and visible consequence is that it decreases elasticity and causes premature aging.

According to several experts in anatomy, the great impact occurs after adopting the same position often, repeatedly, because then the muscles are loaded. This constant faulty posture is what ends up producing pain.

Over the years, like all bad postures, it can be turn something chronic and even, from a certain age, lead to bone deformities and joint pain.

It is often compared to the pain that students can have when preparing exams and complaining that their neck hurts, or like those who spend eight hours a day in front of a screen to which they approach each time and arch their necks. .

Tech neck: how to prevent neck pain from using your cell phone

However, the problem is serious and cannot be fixed with a few massages. Since with the tech neck, the muscles of the neck —the trapezius— are stretched and weakened by disuse. A massage that affects muscle pain, what it will do is stretch them even more and aggravate the problem.

When you perceive that you are forcing the muscles, what you have to do is try to balance them. The weak muscle has to be strengthened and the retracted one will have to be stretched. This is the first measure.

In terms of prevention, it would be necessary to look for the neutral position of the head to rest the muscles, and perform stretching exercises, stretching the shoulders back and touching the chin to the chest.

In addition, it is important to place adapters for screens, elevate tablets and mobile phones so that they are at eye level. Although it is difficult, you have to try not to bend your head down while looking at these screens.