How to Beat ‘Tech Neck’ — and Why It’s So Bad for Your Health

If you’ve ever spent hour after hour, day after day staring at your computer screen, you probably know the pain that is “tech neck.” It’s a term that’s come to refer to the soreness, stiffness, and even injury that can result from when you bend your head downward to look at an electronic device for too long.

“It’s the fallout from spending too much time looking down at phones or tablets, or holding your head too far forward to look at a computer screen,” says Dr Rashi Goel, PT, MPT, a physical therapist at Zanskar Health.

If not treated, “tech neck” — also called text neck, can be bad for your long-term health. Here are symptoms to look out for, and how to fix your “tech neck”.

Why Is ‘Tech Neck’ Bad for You?

1. Your head is heavy, and your neck muscles are designed to hold it upright. Tilting the head down while working at a computer or scrolling through your phone strains your neck muscles. This can make your neck feel sore, painful, or stiff, and lead to posture problems.

2. Tech neck can lengthen the neck muscles and shorten your chest muscles, causing a hunched posture that puts more pressure on your neck and slumps your shoulders. This misalignment leads to shoulder and neck pain, soreness, and stiffness. Pressure on the spine can also pinch nerves that cause neck pain, lower back pain, and numbness or tingling of the hands.

3. In addition, forward-slumping shoulders can pinch and rub the tendons of the rotator cuff—muscles and tendons surrounding your shoulder joint. Over time, this irritation can lead to inflammation and shoulder pain, known as rotator cuff tendonitis. People with rotator cuff injuries are more at risk. 

4. Tech neck can also cause issues beyond your neck and shoulders. Extra spinal pressure in your neck can lead to lower back pain, headaches, and herniated discs (slipped or bulging discs) which may require surgery.

5. Altered neck muscles and poor posture can also strain jaw joints and muscles, creating temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain. 

6. Lastly, tech neck could lead to cervical kyphosis—the loss of the natural C-shaped curvature of your neck. In cervical kyphosis, the curve straightens or even reverses, with the C-shape opening toward the front of your body. 

Symptoms of ‘Tech Neck’: Signs Your Spine Is Out of Line

Pain is the most obvious symptom that your neck is out of place. “Your neck, shoulders, and back should not hurt,” Dr Goel says. “Pain is not normal.”

People in their forties or fifties might notice they’re developing a curvature or bending of the spine at the base of their neck, which she describes as a sure sign of a chronic misalignment.

Other symptoms of “tech neck,” according to Dr Goel:

• Headaches
• Tension in the upper back
• Tingling or numbness in the hands
• Weakness in the hands
• Rotator cuff tendonitis

How to Prevent Tech Neck

Most people have been told to sit up straight when working on a computer. Unfortunately, this is incorrect advice. When you sit with your back straight, you not only put a lot of force on the discs in your lower back, but the muscles in the back of the neck have to contract to hold the head up. So, if you sit up straight for hours, you may end up with both back and neck pain.

A better way to sit is with the chair reclining 25 to 30 degrees with good lumbar support to prevent slouching. In this position, the discs in the back as well as the neck are subjected to much lower forces than in an upright position, and the muscles in the back of the neck no longer have to contract to hold your head up.

Tech Neck Exercises and Stretches

Here are some tech neck stretches and exercises you can complete every day to help relieve tension: 

1. Chin Tucks

2. Shoulder Rolls

3. T-Spine Windmill Stretch

4. Child's Pose

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Medical Review: This article is written by Dr Nishtha Mittal (Senior Health Content Editor at Zanskar Health) and has been medically reviewed by Dr Rashi Goel (Senior Physiotherapist at Zanskar Health). This article and its contents are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or professional services specific to you or your medical condition.