Uh-oh! We’ve noticed a rapidly-advancing painful postural ailment in many busy and successful clients. All have the following symptoms:
- Tight traps specifically on their dominant side
- Tight latissimus dorsi on the dominant side
- Tight spinal erectors
- Slight head tilt to the dominant side
- Tight triceps on the dominant side
- Overly tight hip flexors
- Rounded shoulders
- Slightly stooped posture, particularly in the upper thoracic and cervical spine
At first we weren’t sure what caused it. But relatively quickly we discovered they all have ONE thing in common: they are glued to their mobile phones, talking, texting, emailing, etc.
All are highly successful business people in demand throughout the day, even during workouts (boo!). The way in which they grasp the phone during calls and texts is creating a serious imbalance and tightness in their bodies resulting in us having to spend extra time “fixing” them during sessions. So they are only with us for 3 -5 hours a week, but after discussion with them and their assistants, it became clear that the phone usage never really abates. Thus our conclusion is that between calls and texts/emails, many are spending 8 hours a day on their phones. It’s not only limiting their fitness results, but clearly wreaking havoc on their bodies.
iPhone Syndrome is very similar to the quasi-kyphotic forward rounding of upper back due to dangerous combo of weak core and excessive time spent at computer. But now we’re seeing a shift: the poor posture is noticeably magnified on one side. The technological advances “gift” us liberty to do more tasks on phone is too tempting. Prolonged holding phone up to the dominant ear using hand or dominant shoulder if trying to keep hands free, and traps tightening up to hold phone up while texting causes us to tilt whole body to one side. At least we previously had to step away from the computer to grab a bite or go to the restroom. Not anymore!
Bring your friend, I mean, your phone!
Since we ALL prefer spending more time attacking and achieving fitness goals vs. treating avoidable, albeit unknowingly, self-inflicted physical imbalances and pain, we give clients the following steps to alleviating the issue:
Careful: Taking Phone Leads to Dramatic Effects
- Buy good Bluetooth earpiece. Use for ALL calls.
- Focus on posture while texting/emailing. Tighten your core. Don’t hunch over.
- Keep phone at shoulder level, arms bent pinning elbows against ribs when texting/emailing.
- Besides cranking a motivating playlist, NO phone usage during cardio.
- Perform a basic stretching routine below at least 2 times a day.
Hopefully using this advice, we will be able to combat iPhone Syndrome before it becomes a full blown epidemic!
Stretching Routine
