Many of us are spending more time than ever glued to devices including laptops and mobile phones, and along with contributing to shorter attention span and reduced activity levels, it may also be contributing to neck pain and headaches.
'Tech neck' is the name given to pain caused by continually looking down at your phone or computer, and thankfully, you don't have to give up screens completely to alleviate the pain. According to experts, changing how you use your devices, along with focusing on strengthening and stretching your neck and back, can be the answer to reverse 'tech neck' for good. Here's what you need to know…
What is tech neck? Common symptoms and early warning signs
"Tech neck is what happens when you continually look down at your cell phone or computer. Your neck is under stress. Your neck’s small muscles in the front of your neck become fatigued," says Alex Lee, Co-Founder of Saunny, physiotherapist and fitness and recovery expert. "Your neck muscles in the back of your neck, such as the trapezius and levator scapulae, become contracted. I watch this situation on a daily basis in teenagers, adults, and even athletes."
Common symptoms include:
- Sore neck
- Tightness when looking upward or turning your head
- Tight shoulders
- Burning between the shoulder blades
- Feeling of head heaviness
- Tingling or gentle pressure in the area of the base of the head
"In my work as a therapist, these are commonly the first symptoms that my clients exhibit prior to the pain worsening," the physiotherapist says.
Can tech neck cause headaches?
Not only can tech neck contribute to a tight neck and shoulders, but it can also cause headaches, as Alex explains that when looking down at your devices, "you are contracting the small muscles at the back of your head known as the suboccipital muscles.
"They can irritate the nerves that lead towards the forehead, causing headaches known as cervicogenic headaches. That means headaches that arise in the neck. Patients get it in the temples, the eyes, and the back of the head."
Can a chiropractor help?
As a short-term measure, seeing an expert may help to relieve any pain. However, to alleviate discomfort for good, it may help to focus on movement and changing habits.
"Loosening stiff neck joints can ease some people’s discomfort. It can be very relieving in the short term. In my capacity as a physiotherapist, though, what couples it is strengthening the neck and back area, correcting posture, and changing behaviour. Nothing beats exercise in effecting change," Alex explains.
The best exercises to correct tech neck at home
The following exercises can help to reverse tech neck at home:
- Chin tucks - it strengthens the deep neck muscles and can help pull the head back into place.
- Wall angels - open the chest and relieve shoulder tension.
- Thoracic extension on foam roller - assists movement in the top back area to reduce strain on the neck.
- Scapular retractions - strengthen the muscles of the lower back that hold you upright.
- Pec minor stretch - relaxes the front of your shoulders to prevent tugging on your neck.
How your phone and laptop setup contribute to tech neck
Changing your habits is also important to prevent tech neck from recurring. "Most tech neck comes from how you use your devices. If the screen is too low, it causes you to tilt your head down. If you hold the phone in your lap, it makes you look down at it. If you don’t have back support in your chair, it causes you to slouch," Alex says.
The following changes may help:
- Keep screens at or near eye level
- Keep the phone upwards, not downwards
- Sit on a chair with support on the lower back
- Make short movement breaks rather than sitting for hours in one position.