IT gadgets and cervical disc hernia
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By Lee Sung-hun
A recent survey revealed that today’s average Korean uses their smartphone for about three hours a day.
Those in their 20s use their smartphones a lot more at four hours nine minutes per day, which is about a quarter of the day apart from sleeping.
Looking at the phones for such long periods is a bad habit for the health of the cervical vertebrae.
If we consider the fact that quite many of us use other IT devices such as computers and tablets as well as smartphones on a daily basis, the strain that we put on the neck and shoulders while using an electronic gadget can seriously add up.
In fact, there has been a sharp increase of cervical disc herniation patients among people in their 20s and 30s, who are the heaviest users of smartphones.
According to 2014 data from the National Health Insurance Service, the number of people suffering from cervical disc herniation is approximately 900,000, a 30 percent increase from five years ago, and the increase was the sharpest in patients among their 20s and 30s.
Between the vertebral bones in the back are round, flat discs that act as cushions.
Wear and tear on the discs can force the internal nucleus out and press on the nerves that pass through the spinal column.
Associated neurological symptoms caused by this condition occurring in the cervical vertebrae are referred to as cervical disc herniation.
Its root causes are generally either degenerative changes in the spine or external trauma such as automobile accidents.
Today’s column will focus on the former.
Using smartphones or sitting in front of the computer often forces our body to assume a hunched posture which causes the loss of a normal c-curvature of the cervical vertebrae to turn it into a straight line.
The reason for the c-shape of the cervical vertebrae is to evenly and effectively distribute weight and shock to the spine.
However, once the c-curvature is lost, more weight is loaded on vertebral numbers C5, C6 and C7.
Under such conditions, the lower cervical spine is continuously pressured leading to degenerative changes in the disc.
In turn, such degenerative changes damage overall flexibility, which can bring about a tear in the disc annulus forcing out the disc nucleus, resulting in disc herniation.
The cervical spine consists of seven bones with eight nerve roots branching off it.
As each nerve extends to different parts of our body, depending on the particular nerve that is pressured, symptoms can differ.
Most cervical disc herniation occurs between the lower cervical vertebrae ― C4, C5, C6 and C7.
The main symptoms include pain in the neck itself, or inside the shoulder blades, or pain and a numbing sensation in the arms and hands with weakened arms making it difficult to lift or grab heavy objects.
If the issues are in the upper cervical vertebrae, there is little pain in the shoulders and arms, but headaches and vertigo can occur.
Oriental treatment takes a non-surgical approach to not only alleviate the pain, but to address and correct body posture.
Acupuncture, cupping and pharmacopuncture can promote qi and blood circulation to relax the tense muscles around the neck and shoulders while treating the inflammation caused by the herniated disc.
Chuna chiropractic rights the twisted spine and can directly alleviate the pain while correcting bad posture.
To prevent cervical disc herniation, maintaining a correct body posture is critical with the aim of preventing a straight neck and keeping the c-shape curvature.
In clinical studies, it is observed that patients with lumbar disc herniation can benefit from strengthening the back muscles, while cervical disc hernia patients rarely see benefits from these exercises.
This is because it is not easy to strengthen the muscles surrounding the neck to prevent future pain, and therefore we doctors end up emphasizing the importance of good posture for prevention.
The correct posture is to pull the chin to the chest.
Some may feel uncomfortable about the double chin, but pulling the chin in aligns the head closer to the body’s central axis to maintain the c-curvature of the cervical spine and minimize the load on the neck and shoulders.
Selection of the right pillow is also important in keeping the cervical spine healthy.
The selected pillow should help you to maintain the c-shape.
Many Koreans prefer a high pillow when sleeping, but this is not recommended as the height of the pillow can force the head forward from the torso to result in a straight neck. If you are travelling and cannot find a suitable pillow, rolling up a couple of towels to place under the neck can be a good solution.
In contrast, if you tend to sleep on your side, lowering the height of your pillow can make the neck tilt sideways resulting in tension in the neck and shoulder muscles.
In such cases, high pillows with the height matching the width of the shoulder will allow the cervical and thoracic spines to line up correctly.
It is almost impossible to be in a good posture while using a smartphone.
In today’s tech world, it would be also impossible to refrain from using a smartphone completely.
However, for the health of your cervical spine and to prevent cervical disc herniation, it is recommended that you at least minimize the hours spent hunched over a smartphone.
The writer practices Oriental medicine at the
UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam- dong,
Seoul.