The "anti-bending artifact" is popular! Can it improve the forward neck and prevent hunchback?

Expert in this article: Liu Yajun, Chief Physician/Professor of Spine Surgery at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Director of Orthopedic Shock Wave Therapy Center, and Director of Bone Repair Laboratory

"Improve the forward tilt of the neck, correct the cervical spine, prevent neck wrinkles, and say goodbye to hunchback"...

Looking at such advertising slogans, as a "phone-down person", are you a little tempted?

Recently, an internet celebrity "anti-head-down artifact" has become popular on major platforms, claiming to be able to improve and prevent various cervical spine problems.

The "anti-bowing artifact" displayed on the online shopping platform

Does this magical device really work? Can it really improve cervical spine problems? Let's take a look.

Is the “anti-bowing artifact” useful?

The so-called "anti-bending artifact" on the Internet is actually a simple neck brace. It seems to be able to support the cervical spine to a certain extent and is also very simple to use, but it has no effect on improving the forward tilt of the neck and correcting the body posture. Long-term use may even have a counter-effect. The maintenance of cervical spine posture mainly depends on the exercise of neck muscles. Long-term wearing of braces will cause muscle atrophy due to disuse.

What is the clinical use of cervical collar?

A cervical collar is a commonly used brace in orthopedics, which is used to temporarily fix the lower cervical spine and restrict movement.

We divide the cervical spine into upper cervical spine and lower cervical spine. The upper cervical spine is the 1st and 2nd vertebrae connecting the cervical spine and the skull base. The lower cervical spine is the 3rd to 7th vertebrae, which are continuous with the thoracic spine. The brace to fix the upper cervical spine is another type. The cervical brace we often talk about is used to fix the lower cervical spine.

There are three main situations in which a cervical collar is used:

During on-site first aid, if the victim has a neck injury, a cervical collar will be temporarily applied to the neck to prevent secondary injury to the patient when the patient is transported.

For conservative treatment of certain cervical diseases, such as radiculopathy, cervical trauma, etc., short-term immobilization is performed to relieve pain.

Used for patients after cervical spine surgery to protect soft tissue, promote bone healing, etc.

In order to achieve a good fixation effect and take into account the patient's comfort, the design of the therapeutic neck brace should be more scientific than the magic tools on the Internet.

Taking the most commonly used cervical collar in clinical practice as an example, it consists of two parts, front and back. The front part not only supports the lower jaw, but also supports the sternum below, so the contact area should be larger to avoid excessive local pressure and compression damage to the soft tissue.

Photo courtesy of the author

Photo courtesy of the author

The design of the "artifact" is just a ring, which seems simpler, but the support effect is not good. Moreover, if used for a long time, the local pressure on the chest is too great, which is easy to cause crushing. The back half of the neck brace is used to support the back of the head and back, and also requires a certain contact area. The "artifact" is fixed directly with a strap. If it is too loose, it will not have a fixing effect. If it is too tight, it will be uncomfortable and it will easily crush the soft tissue.

How important is the human cervical spine?

The cervical vertebra is the key part connecting the head and the torso. The flexible movement of the neck enables us to observe the surrounding environment at any time. At the same time, the cervical vertebra protects very important and delicate spinal nerves, which are usually only as thick as our fingers, but our senses are transmitted to the brain, and the commands issued by the brain are transmitted to the torso and limbs, all through this necessary route.

What are cervical spine diseases?

Trauma, infection, deformity, tumor and degeneration can all lead to cervical diseases, but the most common are herniated disc and spinal stenosis caused by degenerative changes in the cervical spine. Depending on the compressed nerve tissue, the most common types of cervical spondylosis are radiculopathy and myelopathy.

What symptoms of cervical spine should you be alert to?

One type of symptom is recurrent neck and shoulder pain, accompanied by pain and numbness in the upper limbs, which can radiate from the shoulders to the forearms and fingers. In this case, you should be alert to radiculopathy of cervical spondylosis. Changing posture (such as raising your arms to hold your head and traction on the cervical spine) can relieve the pain.

Another type of symptom is more serious, but also easier to ignore or misdiagnose, such as stiff fingers, clumsy writing, using chopsticks or buttoning, unsteady walking, stepping on cotton or often walking off the track. If these symptoms occur, be alert to the possibility of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

How to protect the cervical spine?

For daily protection, the main thing is to be careful not to maintain a posture for a long time. You should get up and move around after working for a while to relieve the long-term tension of the muscles, which is helpful for the cervical and lumbar spine.

Gymnastics during work breaks is a very good exercise method. For people who work at a desk, a simple movement can be used to exercise the muscles behind the cervical spine. If you persist in doing it for a long time, it will help relieve cervical muscle strain and improve the curvature of the cervical spine.

1

The specific approach is:

You can stand or sit, straighten your chest and back, cross your hands and place them slightly above the back of your head, slowly push your head and neck backwards, push your hands forward to resist, keep pushing for about 5 seconds, relax, and then repeat this action 3-5 times. This can significantly relieve the discomfort in your neck.

If you can do this exercise twice a day, 30-50 times each time, it will be very beneficial for cervical muscle strain and maintaining cervical curvature. This is a static exercise that does not require too much strength. The key is to use continuous strength for a period of time.

Compared with professional neck brace, the "anti-head bowing artifact"

Simple design

Improve the forward neck

Correction of posture is basically useless

Long-term wearing can easily cause adverse effects

For people who look down at their phones or work at desks for a long time

Don't stay in one posture for too long

If you have discomfort in your cervical spine

Even affects daily walking or activities

Seek medical attention promptly and receive professional treatment

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