You may have heard the term “binge-watching” just recently, but it’s a practice that goes back some years. At the turn of the century, we saw the rising popularity of purchasing DVD box sets of entire seasons of popular TV shows that people would then binge-watch. As a result, that habit fed into the model that popular streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have used to define the streaming experience. Not only do many streaming platforms release multiple episodes or complete seasons on the same day, but if they get their hands on an older television classic, they almost always make the show’s entirety available all at once.
While you certainly can’t beat the convenience, there may be some potentially unintended consequences to promoting a binge-watching model. Sitting in front of a TV or computer screen for long periods of time has never been recommended by anyone, but as more and more people find themselves grappling with this reality in both their work life and their leisure time, it’s important to consider how binge-watching can affect our back health.
Why Does Watching TV Hurt My Back?
As counter-intuitive as it might sound, sitting down for extended periods of time is actually an unnatural position for us to be in. The sitting position, for long stretches of time, puts pressure on the discs and vertebrae in our back. So, what happens if we binge-watch too much TV or spend too much time sitting in front of the computer?
Unfortunately, the common and almost entirely unavoidable outcome is that it adversely affects your posture. It’s hard to notice, but you often are slouched over when you’re sitting and looking at the TV or a computer monitor. This causes additional tension in your shoulders. Similar to texting, when watching TV, your neck likely doesn’t get proper support as we often find ourselves leaning forward. That lack of support for our neck can continue to lead to back pain and spinal misalignment resulting in back pain and even back spasms.
How Can I Stop Back Pain from Watching TV or Being on The Computer?
The best thing you can do is break up your time by getting up and incorporating stretches and exercise. Whether we’re talking about back pain from binge-watching TV or sitting at a computer, you can do stretches and perform some exercises like planks. Though this may require reorganizing your home entertainment setup, it can improve your overall back health. When sitting at a computer, you should establish break times where you can get up, stretch, and take a walk. Stretches while working from home are even more important, to reduce long term back pain.
That being said, you may already be experiencing back pain. If your spine is misaligned, you’ll need more than stretches and exercises at home to achieve the kind of pain relief you’ll want. You’ll want to consider reaching out to a chiropractor and seeing what can be done to manage your pain and restore your quality of life.
Get Relief from Your Back Pain at Total Chiropractic Care
Habits such as binge-watching can be hard to break, but Dr. Goldman at Total Chiropractic Care and Wellness is ready and eager to help you. We can work with you using a combination of chiropractic care such as spinal manipulation, massage, as well as lifestyle advice to help continue your progress outside of our facility. You can improve your quality of life and get more out of it every single day. Get started now by reaching out to us to set up an appointment. You can also give us a call directly at (631) 447-2299.