Last year, the Scientific American revealed that adults spend an average of 9 hours and 22 minutes of the day staring at a screen of some sort – including smartphones, computers, and television. Other reports have claimed the young children spend around 2 hours a day staring at a screen and that number only increases as the child gets older.

The Screen Effect On Your Spine

All of this time staring down at your phone, hunched over at your computer, or looking down at your iPad can have a huge impact on your spine. This posture imposes more weight on the cervical spine, the part of the spine in the neck and shoulders. The average human head weighs approximately 12 pounds but bending the neck downward even slightly while texting can increase the weight strain on your cervical spine to as much as 60 pounds of pressure at a 60-degree tilt. The greater the tilt, the greater the burden.
As a result, more and more people are suffering from the strain on the neck and shoulders, resulting in a hunched posture. All of these elements combined is known as “tech neck” and can incite various symptoms of pain and tension on the upper back and neck. On the lighter end, people can suffer from neck pain and knots in their neck and shoulders. On the extreme end, this kind of strain can result in a pinched nerve or disc damage.

How to Prevent Tech Neck

The easiest piece of advice would be to reduce time in front of the screens. Although technology is becoming increasingly intertwined with our daily jobs, there are other ways to reduce your time. Instead of taking your laptop to a meeting, try bringing a notebook. The easiest place to make a change is in your home. Try your best to keep your self from idly scrolling through social media apps while watching television or spending time with your family. Not only will the reduction of screen time allow you to spend more quality time with your family, but it will help you sleep better too!

Chiropractic Treatments for Tech Neck

If you’re finding yourself struggling through the day because of neck and upper back pain, chiropractic treatment can help you find relief and get your posture back in order. Experienced chiropractors at Tuck Clinic can do more than just adjust an unbalanced spine. We can also recommend helpful stretches and exercise to counteract the strain placed on your spine and shoulders and improve your posture.
Contact Tuck Chiropractic Clinic with any questions or to schedule an appointment for your initial assessment.

Good, better, best. This tends to be the typical path for the patients treated at Tuck Clinic.
Most patients come in just wanting to feel good. They are sick of being in pain and they want to feel normal again. After starting a treatment plan, they start to feel better. They begin returning to their normal daily routines, gaining more independence, and just feeling “better” over all. Eventually, they come to the conclusion that this is the best they’ve felt in a long time.
This is the path that Judy embarked on with Dr. Flynn at the Tuck Clinic in Botetourt.

Seeking Help

Judy has always been active and does a lot of traveling, so keeping her body healthy is very important to her. Unfortunately, she was not finding the relief she had hoped for after following her doctor’s advice.
“I had been working with my doctor to eat healthier, lose weight, try exercises,” says Judy. “I had to take leave from work due to my hip pain. As you get older, things just happen to your body and it hurts.”
Ten years prior to visiting Tuck Clinic, Judy had her first encounter with a chiropractor for general back pain. Since she found success her first go-round with a chiropractor, she decided to take matters into her own hands and seek out help again.

Feeling at Home With Tuck

Judy did her fair share of research for chiropractors in the area. She was pleasantly surprised to come across the positive reviews of the chiropractic clinic right across the street from her gym in Botetourt.
“I went to a bunch of different websites – this one had great reviews. It so happened that I had a friend who had been here,” says Judy.
She goes on to highlight how quickly she was able to be in contact with Dr. Flynn.
“I go to the Botetourt Athletic Center so it was really convenient. I was at the gym and I just swung by and told them what I needed. They took me in that day,” says Judy.
Even though Judy had previous experience with a chiropractor, she was relived with the ease of her first visit with Dr.Flynn.
“It was very welcoming. The staff is awesome. Jerry (Dr. Flynn’s administrative assistant) is great. I did my initial interview, blood pressure, the whole intake process. According to those results, it was recommended that I got the stimulation treatment first to relax muscles. At that time, it was my hip pain and knee pain and hands were numb,” Judy recalls.
Judy could feel that she really cared about her and improving her health, adding: “She takes interest in her patients, takes notes about my travels. She adjusted me right before I left for Hawaii and as soon as I came back. If something goes awry, you can just call her and she can fix you right up.”

Feeling Her Best

After visiting with Dr. Flynn for only 3 months, Judy has seen a significant change in her body and overall health. She is truly feeling the benefits of the care.
“My mobility has changed. it’s only been 3 months – paired with exercise and eating well. I can go up and down the steps without using a hand rail. Previous to all of this, I was having issues with balance. I now have more improved mobility, like a spry old lady” says Judy.
Judy has also been able to reduce the frequency of her clinic visits because of the improvement. She is happy being able to return to traveling.
“I was going three times a week for a few weeks until it started to level out. Now we’ve reduced to twice a week and that works around my schedule because I travel a lot. Dr.Flynn is very accommodating,” says Judy.
Judy also advocates for anyone considering making a visit to the chiropractor or a Tuck Clinic. With her results, she has been more than pleased with her experience.
“My results have been awesome,”Judy says. “I talk to my friends about it all the time. You need to go for it!”

It’s been a busy month for the doctors at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic. While Dr. Tuck spent time leading the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) in a new direction, Dr. LaBarbera lobbied in Washington, D.C. for better healthcare access, and Dr. Matthis spoke to a crowd on Best Practices in Chiropractic. But possibly the most exciting adventure was Dr. Tuck and Dr. LaBarbera’s trip to Austin, Texas to attend the 31st South by Southwest, a conference, and festival celebrating the convergence of industries for innovation.
You might be wondering how two chiropractors from Southwest Virginia had an interest in a festival historically known for focusing on the entertainment business, but they discovered plenty of opportunities to be inspired by their own industry and beyond.
“It’s incredible to see how design crosses over to all industries,” said Dr. Tuck, reflecting on the weekend.
They strategically split their time between the healthcare-focused tracks and the marketing and innovation focused tracks to elevate their strategies in providing collaborative care and helping individuals in need discover that kind of care in a meaningful, authentic way.

Forward Thinking in Healthcare

The goal of the healthcare conference track is to explore new technology and innovation to improve health in the communities that we serve. One of the biggest take-aways arose from a session presented by Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin titled “Returning Health Care to Its Purpose“. This session focused on methods of overcoming the challenges of access to, availability of, and payments for health care to get back to the root purpose of being a healthcare provider: health.
The Dell Medical School demonstrated an innovative take on providing care by building a team of health care providers from various backgrounds to work collaboratively to extract more meaningful outcomes in the care plan provided to patients. This concept is very much aligned with the declaration of a new direction for the ACA; the belief working together can only ever bring about positive outcomes will change the way we provide care.
Breaking the siloed approach to build a system that is centered around the patient’s needs will prove to be a challenge in such a sprawling region like Southwest Virginia, but after some new insights and inspiration, the doctors at Tuck Clinic are up for the challenge.

Telling The Story

At times, the medical industry can face challenges in truly reaching an audience in need in a genuine way. Whether it’s because of a knowledge gap in understanding exactly what the chiropractic practice involves, or because of preconceived notions, there’s typically a hurdle in communicating to the public in a meaningful way.
Even as doctor’s, we realize the best way to overcome these challenges is to tell our story and the stories of our patients in a meaningful way, which is why the session focused on “Brand Storytelling in the Digital Age” was so impactful. In this session, three senior marketing experts at Kate Spade New York demonstrated how strategic digital storytelling can demonstrate a brand’s purpose and mission in a more engaging way. In order to reach the individuals we hope to help, we’ll be bringing out takeaways home with us to find new platforms and new methods of demonstrating our expertise and helping the public #FeelBetterLiveBetter.
Stay tuned to see all the Tuck Chiropractic Clinic has to offer!