Do You Have Text Neck?
We all know there are negative physical consequences to being ultra-connected these days. They range from minor issues like eye strain to more damaging problems like “text neck.” An article on Norton.com states that using devices for extended periods can inflame tissues and even pull your spine out of its proper position. According to the website, “health experts call this damaging position ‘forward head posture.’”
Beauty experts note that text neck, also called “tech neck,” can also involve premature “folding, wrinkling and sagging” of neck tissues caused by looking forward and down into your cell phone or computer for hours. This additional angle is from the Smart Beauty Guide website published by The Aesthetic Society, otherwise known as the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. These experts say today’s text neck is the modern version of the old “turkey neck.” Whatever it may be called, we’re seeing substantial numbers of patients seeking treatment for text neck in New York these days.
What Should You Do About Text Neck?
Hardly anyone is willing to give up using online devices, and it can be even difficult to cut back. So what can you do instead? The Norton website has several suggestions for helping your body deal with the need to be connected:
• Give your body a break: If you sit for long periods, get up and stretch, walk around and use other muscles every 20 to 30 minutes. If you have an especially involved project to take care of, give yourself longer breaks.
• Sit properly: Make it a habit not to slouch. Sit with your spine against your chair and engage your abdominal muscles. It may take practice to change poor posture, but it’s worth it!
• Modify your position: Hold your phone out in front of you rather than looking down at the screen. If you’re tired of sitting all day, try a standing desk, or one you can raise and lower.
What About Tissue Damage?
These and other suggestions to help your body be more resilient are good ones. But if tissue damage has been done—whether by the sun, aging, genetics, repetitive motion or a combination of all these—it can’t be reversed by exercise and better position. With a full menu of cosmetic options available in our practice in New York, text neck can be treated with a variety of procedures:
• Injectables: If your issue is ropy bands just starting to emerge, it may be possible that non-invasive treatment with Botox to relax the muscles may help. Injectable fillers may assist in filling and softening sunken areas. Be advised that non-invasive options will have limited impact, however, and we don’t recommend them for many patients. If your problem is a localized fat pad, however, dissolving it with Kybella injections may be a workable solution.
• Liposuction: For certain patients, light liposuction can make a big difference. Through a small incision under the chin, we can banish more extensive fat deposits and sharpen up the jawline with our small cannula. If your skin is in good shape and ready to bounce back, liposuction could be all that’s needed.
• Neck lift: Due to several factors, including the delicate nature of neck skin, our New York text neck patients are often best served by a full neck lift. This often means a small incision under your chin to remove fat and perhaps tighten up ropy neck muscles, plus incisions behind your ears that allow us to pull sagging skin back up into a youthful position.
How Do You Decide Which Option is Best?
The right way to choose what might work best for you is to visit a board certified plastic surgeon with all these tools to offer. A surgeon with many years of successful practice and thousands of satisfied patients will recommend treatment that makes sense.
If you’d like to consult us about your text neck in New York, we’d be pleased to work with you! Give us a call at 212-570-6080 today.
