The spinal effects of gaming and how chiropractors can help!
Gaming has now become one of the number one pastimes throughout the world. There are now over 3 billion people gaming regularly with the average age being 35 years old and the average gamer spending 5-20 hours per week gaming, however what effect is this having on people’s spine.
When people game they naturally become engrossed in the game without paying attention to their posture. When this happens the natural position of the spine is to lean forward and hunch over with the upper thoracic spine and neck. The average head weighs 5 kilos and when the head is protruded in a forward direction all of the neck and upper back muscles have to contract to hold it in place.
The effects of this are large amounts of tension throughout the upper back and neck muscles. Over time these muscles can change length, become hypertonic and develop trigger points (knots) within the muscles. This change in posture will also cause large additional stress throughout the joints of the neck and what we often see here at Capital Chiropractic is the C shaped curve that is designed to take the weight of the head reduce or even start to protrude forwards into a D shaped curve.
Untreated spines are more likely to cause symptoms such as headaches, neck pain, upper back pain, referred pain into the arms, shoulder pain and migraines. Chiropractors can help alleviate these symptoms and also recommend exercises and many things you can do at home for prevention. Below we have a few chiropractic tips that you can do immediately to start helping.
Take regular breaks from gaming- At Capital chiropractic we recommend that you don’t spend any longer than 1 hour at a time gaming and have at least 1 hour break in between.
Try to stand when gaming rather than sitting- Standing helps prevent your upper back and neck protruding forward which in turn helps relieve stress to the joints and muscles in this area.
Try to keep your shoulder blades squeezed gently in towards the spine and your chin tucked in. This naturally contracts the muscles that stop the head and shoulders moving forwards.
Blue light blockers can be used to help reduce the strain on eyes.
GET ADJUSTED regularly. Chiropractic adjustments and treatment can help enormously with upper back and neck pain as well as working with rehab and the posture of the spine.
