Here's what you can do to stop the pain arising from your iPhone addiction

On the streets they roam: those hunchbacked beings, their necks angled sideways, their shoulders hunched, their thumbs twisted like a any of Blac Chyna’s colorful talons.

No, these aren’t zombies. They’re not even a Kardashian. Worse – these described mammals are humans of the 21st Century. And there’s one thing that’s destroying them: the iPhone. If you’ve ever wondered if your iPhone was doing you damage, you were right. There have been countless studies that have shown how the iPhone is not only destroying your eyes via its blue UV rays, but also causing neck pain, shoulder strain, the “texting thumb,” known as De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, as well as the dreaded “iPhone elbow,” that is, inflamed tendons in your elbow area. So real is this condition, an NBA player once admitted that he couldn’t play basketball because of his iPhone use.

Of course, none of this is new news. But never in the history of mankind have we seen such strain in muscles, misalignment with the spine, as well as inflamed tendons. It’s become a problem. So what’s a guy or gal to do, stop using their iPhones forever? Funny.

According to a physical and massage therapist, Ivy Klein, at bliss49, being more mindful about your iPhone addiction is key. We asked her to give us a few tips on what we can all do to when being less tied down to our phones is just NOT an option. If you’re in intense pain, consult a specialist or doctor immediately!

First of all, why does someone get so sore?

People can get sore for a multitude of reasons. Dehydration is certainly a cause of muscle/tissue soreness. One can also get sore post workout because of inadequate form while training, overuse of specific muscle(s) causing microscopic fiber damage to the muscle. When receiving a massage, clients can be sore afterwards due to these same reasons (microscopic tears in the muscle fibers), but the soreness should never be overwhelming – one should feel good post deep tissue massage and overall pain should be alleviated.

Okay, so massages aren’t cheap and not for everyone. How do people ~actually~ get rid of tense muscles?

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Tension in the muscles from your iPhone addiction, or just life, can be alleviated through Swedish massage – strokes like effleurage that promote circulation and elongation of the muscle tissue –deep tissue/trigger point work that helps break up adhesions in the tissue. [If you can’t get a massage] try foam rolling, stretching, hydrating, and Epsom salt bath soaks.

Can we talk about how real the iPhone neck is?

It is real. In today’s times with technology being at the forefront of our lives, people are constantly in a contracted position in their front body looking down at their phones and creating an overstretched posterior upper back area. This results in a very tight neck and shoulder area. This creates cervical instability and pain in the neck.

How about the iPhone elbow?

Forearm muscles can also become tense from technology use. Overtime, you will develop stronger muscles from the constant habit, but when you need to alleviate burning and pain, you should remedy this muscle area just as you would the others, with plenty of stretching and massage therapy.

What are the biggest things young people need to be mindful of?

I would say neck/shoulder/low back area are the biggest problem areas for teens/collegiate students. Backpacks, over the shoulder bags, and other back bags pull the shoulders forward, distribute added weight unevenly to the neck/low back areas, and cause pain, tightness, and inflammation resulting in sore necks and backs. The roller bags with wheels are a great alternative to carrying around heavy books/computers. Students can also make sure they’re never carrying their bags for too long on only one shoulder, they can incorporate stretching into their daily routine, and get massages whenever they can.

Tell me about some at-home things we can do.

Foam rolling, stretching, elevating their legs when relaxing at home, mineral bath soaks, and proper hydration are just a few things that one can do at home to remedy your iPhone addiction as well as pain and muscle tightness or soreness.