Posture vs. Gadgets: Who wins?

In the modern world people have increased access to smartphones, tablets, laptops, and many other portable devices that are utilized in different ways. Some are for passing the time, some to stay informed, and some for studies and remote work. What we don’t really notice is that over time these gadgets affect our posture in ways we would never imagine. By the time we take notice and learn about it, we are already in pain and getting ready to be seen by a medical practitioner.   

More often than not, we tend to be very comfortable with using the gadgets placed on our lap or somewhere lower than eye level that requires our neck and shoulders to bend far more forward for long hours while we are stuck reading and scrolling. We believe that we are relaxed because our backs are slouched, our heads are moved forward, and shoulders are rounded. Sound familiar?   

Based on our Anatomy, these muscles are being overstretched on the back side and being severely tightened on the other, thus causing an imbalance between these muscles and therefore causing pain. We tend to forget how to be mindful of our posture and just continue to be in this position for extended periods of time until the pain hits us.   

Luckily, it isn’t the end of the world yet! Physical Therapy can help a lot with posture correction by improving the elasticity of these muscles. Stretching the tight ones and tightening the overstretched ones results in a more balanced pull between your muscles, less pain, and of course improved posture! Gadgets help us a lot in our day-to-day activities, but we as Physical Therapists always advise proper placement and proper posture.  That way our posture wins over these gadgets!