How to Solve Tech Neck, the Posture Problem Caused by Your Phone

Chances are, you spend a lot of time looking at your phone. If you’re not on your phone, you might be looking down at a tablet or laptop. Over time, bending your head forward constantly can lead to pain in your neck and shoulder muscles, a condition called tech neck. However, with a few lifestyle adjustments such as exercise, you can prevent tech neck and further pain down the road.

What Is Tech Neck?

Tech neck, also known as text neck, is a repetitive strain injury caused by prolonged use of digital devices in a poor posture position.

The adult head weighs around 10 to 12 pounds when in a neutral position — that is, when it is directly aligned on top of your neck and spine in a straight line. When you tilt your head forward, gravity pulls your head down, creating extra weight for your neck and shoulders to hold up your head. Tilting your head forward at a 30-degree angle creates up to a 40-pound weight for your neck. Bend even further, at a 60-degree angle, and it can be a 60-pound weight.

Over time, the added weight causes increased strain on your muscles, ligaments, and vertebral discs in the spine. Eventually, this strain may cause degenerative changes to your spine or even permanent changes in spinal alignment. Children and teens who have not stopped growing are especially at risk.

Symptoms of Tech Neck

Tech neck can cause several kinds of symptoms, including:

• Decreased range of motion
• Headaches
• Jaw pain
• Migraine
• Neck pain, soreness, or stiffness
• Pain that spreads down your arm or into your hand
• Shoulder pain and tightness
• Upper back pain

Without treatment or postural changes, symptoms may worsen over time, leading to joint inflammation or pinched nerves.

How to Prevent Tech Neck and Improve Symptoms

If you have symptoms of mild tech neck or want to prevent them from starting, making a few simple lifestyle changes can go a long way to reducing the strain on your spine.

• Adjust your electronic devices. Hold your phone at eye level, and raise your computer monitor or laptop so the top of the screen is at or slightly below eye level. This helps maintain a neutral neck position.
• Improve your posture. Sit with your head, hips, and spine stacked in alignment. Keep your shoulders back and down.
• Stay active. Regular exercise can help strengthen your neck and shoulder muscles, improving your overall posture.
• Strengthen and stretch. Gentle neck and shoulder stretches can help alleviate tension and improve flexibility. You can also perform easy exercises that strengthen muscles in these areas, such as shoulder blade squeezes.
• Take regular breaks. Use the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
• Use ergonomic equipment. Consider using a standing desk, ergonomic chair, or phone holder to promote better posture. You can also use voice commands and other accessibility software on your devices that reduce the need to look down.

If there’s any one single step to take to prevent tech neck it’s to limit screen time whenever you can. You may want to “dumb down” your phone, deleting as many apps as possible so you are less tempted to use it during leisure hours.

Treatment for Tech Neck

If you experience persistent pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your neck, shoulders, or arms, it’s time to contact a Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County orthopedic provider. We can rule out other conditions that could be causing your pain, and our physical therapists can teach you exercises to improve your symptoms. You don’t have to let tech neck be an inevitable consequence of our digital lives. Improving your neck and back health now may prevent further pain later in life.

Talk to an MHSC provider about your neck pain. Find a provider.