If you’re on the lookout for a new career, I can’t recommend physiotherapy enough. When you look around at all the people whose posture is being affected by phones, computers, and video games, it’s clear that we won’t be running out of new patients anytime soon!
Whether it’s for work, school, or simply recreation, most of us spend huge parts of our day on our devices. Over time, this can lead to a unique postural issue known as ‘tech neck’. Tech neck is any form of chronic neck or shoulder pain, soreness, or stiffness caused by poor posture while using technology such as phones or computers.
Yes, tech neck syndrome is a real thing. Let’s take a look at the answers to your questions about the phenomenon of tech neck, including its causes, symptoms, implications, and the ways you can counteract it in your daily life.
“Tech neck” is a colloquial term used to describe the pain and tension caused by the muscle stress we experience with poor posture when staring at a device for long periods of time. The main cause of tech neck is the forward head posture with a chin poking forward (shortening the back of the neck) as we look down at our phone, computer, or video games.
When we look down, the muscles in the back of our necks take the weight of our head, supporting it so our chins don’t flop down to our chests. The further we look down, the greater the strain on these relatively small muscles. Over time, this causes soreness, tension, and fatigue in the back of the neck—a condition known by many physiotherapists as tech neck.
When you tilt your head down 45 degrees (which you might be doing right now as you read this), it places a weight load on the muscles in our necks—equivalent to about 50 pounds. While this is harmless for short periods, doing it for long periods of time (such as a full workday on your computer or a four-hour scroll on social media) can quickly lead to tech neck symptoms.
You’ll know you’re dealing with tech neck if you experience frequent headaches, stiff neck muscles, soreness between the shoulder blades, or even muscle spasms in your neck. You might also find it difficult or painful to look up after a long period of looking down, indicating that the muscles are under excessive strain.
In severe cases, you’ll begin to experience issues in other parts of the body, such as numbness or tingling in your arms caused by pinched nerves in the neck. If tech neck continues for a long time, it can even begin to wear down the discs in between the vertebrae located in the neck, causing an ever-worsening cycle of pain, tension, and muscle fatigue. If left uncorrected for a long time, these discs can bulge or possibly rupture, causing serious pain, numbness, and muscle weakness, which potentially requires surgery to address.
From the outside, tech neck syndrome is quite easy to spot. Odds are, you’ll see it almost every time someone uses their phone, laptop, or tablet. When the head is tilted forward at an angle greater than 45 degrees, it’s known as tech neck, since the neck muscles are under the excessive strain of holding the head in position.
In addition to the neck and head position, the other elements of your posture might come into play. When using a phone, for instance, many of us hold it closer to our faces, leading to our bodies being compressed and held at irregular positions. While this isn’t an issue if it’s just for a minute or two, we’re usually in the same positions for long periods, which actually puts more stress on the body than being in motion.
The answer is no. While it’s easy to assume only teenagers are affected by this, the reality is that tech neck can affect people at any age. As we get older, our spinal discs begin to get narrower, making them less supportive of the weight of your body, which is transferred to the spine. The spinal pressure caused by tech neck syndrome can begin to transfer to spinal nerve roots located at the base of the neck, especially when these nerves become less protected by spinal discs. This leads to pain in the neck, shoulders, back, and even the arms and head.
While yes, young people and teens are also affected by tech neck, the implications are different for a growing body. Young people who grow up with poor posture and ergonomics might experience more muscle fatigue as they mature, leading to an increased risk of strains, sprains, chronic pain, and lack of mobility in the neck or shoulders.
While tech neck is a serious issue faced by countless people, you can alleviate symptoms quite simply—it just takes some time and discipline to form habits that will help you feel better. Here are a few tips to help you address the symptoms of tech neck:
As I always say to my patients, prevention is always better than treatment. Rather than waiting for neck pain and chronic headaches, why not make some changes today to prevent tech neck tomorrow? Here are a few ways you can avoid tech neck from becoming an issue:
With screen usage only increasing over time, more people are experiencing the pain and stiffness caused by tech neck. While these at-home adjustments and preventative measures are a fantastic way to address symptoms or proactively avoid them, you might find it difficult to consistently put them into practice. If you’re dealing with the consequences of poor technology posture, I’m here to help.
Whether you’re dealing with ongoing neck pain, headaches, and tingling in your arms, or are simply looking to keep your posture in tip-top shape, ProActive Pilates can support you.
With customized exercises and posture corrections, advice tailored to your unique needs and routines, and a dedication to empowering you to feel your best, my proactive physiotherapy services can allow you to finally say goodbye to tech neck for good. Book an initial assessment today.
