Protect the neck health 'C-curve' Use by pulling the keyboard and mouse over the belly
Oct 03, 2024
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According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, more than 1.7 million patients visited the hospital last year with cervical pain (neck pain), an increase of 20% in the past five years. Neck pain can occur for a variety of reasons, the biggest reason being the breakdown of the curve of the cervical spine (neckbone) due to the habit of maintaining the wrong posture for a long time. In fact, the number of patients who visited the hospital due to cervical deformities such as straight neck and turtle neck syndrome exceeded 2.5 million last year.
A total of seven cervical vertebrae protect spinal nerves starting from the brain, forming a gentle C-shaped curve from the side and supporting the body's heaviest head.
Choi Il-heon, head of the spinal clinic at Gangbuk Yeonse Hospital, said, "The load is evenly distributed when the cervical spine is on a normal curve, but when the neck bone is deformed, such as a straight neck with a straight neck and an inverted C-shaped turtle neck, it causes excessive muscle and ligaments that support the neck bone." "If this persists, chronic stiffness and pain from the neck to the back and degenerative changes of the disk can occur, leading to neck disc disease, so caution is needed."
Neck disc disease causes pain when the shock-absorbing disk leaves its place between the neck bones, pressing the nerves, and the pain can be accompanied by radiating pain that extends to the shoulders, arms, and fingers, and in severe cases, paralysis. In fact, as many as 1 million patients visit hospitals a year for neck disc disease, efforts to maintain a normal C-shaped curve of the neck bone are essential to prevent neck health.
◇Pull the keyboard and mouse toward the stomach...Stretching collecting wing bones when you have time
The worst position to break the C-curve of the neck bone is to lower your head for a long time or lower your neck forward and bend your back. Often, using a smartphone or computer for a long time leads to this posture. Since the neck bone supports the head weighing 5 to 7kg, if you lower your head or pull it forward, the center of gravity will be shifted to one side, causing tension in ligaments and muscles. If this continues for a long time, the structures weaken, causing the normal curve to collapse due to the inability to properly support the neck bone, and a lot of load is transmitted to the neck bone. Therefore, smartphones and computer monitors must be adjusted to the eye level and the position of the keyboard and mouse must be pulled toward the stomach to make the angle of the elbow 90 degrees to prevent the neck from falling forward and the back from bending.
In addition, deformation of the neck bone, such as a straight neck or turtle neck, is accompanied by a bent shoulder (round shoulder), so it must be corrected together. The usual posture is to stretch your chest wide and pull your chin a little. Stretching is also important, but it is good to hold both hands behind your back and lower them and feel the scapula (wing bone) contacting each other. At this time, it is more effective to bend the head back and extend the neck bone in print. It's better to keep it for about 10 seconds when you stretch and do it whenever you have time, rather than deciding the number of times.
◇Do not use high pillows and sofa armrests to make reverse C-shape
A typical lifestyle that breaks down the C-shaped curve is the use of a high pillow. It doesn't matter when you lie on your side because of your shoulder height, but if you use a high pillow when you lie down right away, your head naturally bends forward, making the curve of your neck bone an inverted C shape, so you should avoid it. The same is true of the posture of lying down with the armrest of the sofa. The pillow should be wide enough to cover your shoulders without being high. Or functional pillows that support the neck can also help with neck health.
Choi Il-heon, director of the hospital, emphasized that `Although the deformation of the neck bone itself, such as the straight neck and turtle neck, is not a disease, it can be the biggest cause of spinal diseases such as neck disc disease or stenosis, so it is essential to remember the normal C-shaped curve of the neck bone and make efforts to habitually correct and stretch the posture.'
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bellho@sportschosun.com
