Big Shout Out to Susan Reischl for her LIVE radio broadcast on KDKA Pittsburg!!

Susan Reischl’s Credentials

Susan has been a physical therapist for over 35 years mainly in her own private practice in Long Beach, California.  She specializes in patients with spinal pain and injury, especially in the neck.  She has a clinical doctor degree in Physical Therapy and a clinical specialization in orthopedics from the APTA.

Interview Topic: Text Neck

Definition: overuse syndrome involving the head, neck and shoulders, usually resulting from the excessive strain on the spine from looking in a forward and downward position at any hand held mobile device, i.e. mobile phone, video game unit, computer, mp3 player, e-reader.  This can cause headaches, neck pain, shoulder and arm pain, breathing compromise, and much more.

Synonym: forward head posture

This is a global epidemic! Recent studies have confirmed that there is a link between the amount of text messages sent everyday and the pain felt.

“For every inch of forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.” –Kapandji, Physiology of Joints, Vol. 3.

Forward head posture (FHP) can add up to thirty (30) pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment. –Rene Caillet, M.D., Director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Southern California.

Anatomy and Effects of Texting

DID YOU KNOW??

The effects of long term forward neck posture leads to “long term muscle strain, disc herniations and pinched nerves.”-Mayo Clinic Health Letter Vol. 18, #3 March 2000

It was noted in regard to Respiratory Dysfunction in Chronic Neck Pain Patients; …“the study demonstrated a strong association between an increased forward head posture and decreased respiratory muscle strength in neck patients.” –The journal Cephalagia, 2009 Feb 2.

FHP has been shown to flatten the normal neck curve, resulting in disc compression, damage, and early arthritis. -Gore DR, Sepic SB, Gardner GM. Roentgenographic findings of the cervical spine in asymptomatic people. Spine 1986; 6:591-694.