Ever had a lengthy doom scroll session and felt that annoying soreness in your neck? Tech neck is a common culprit, though luckily, there are tech neck exercises to deal with it. Stooping over our electronics can result in discomfort, stiffness, and even alignment issues. Still, thankfully, there are a variety of easy workouts and exercises for tech neck that will help you overcome tech neck and return to a pain-free, relaxed posture.
What Is Tech Neck?
The term “tech neck” refers to a widespread condition brought on by prolonged periods of sitting and staring down at phones, laptops, or other gadgets. The occurrence of tech neck, also known as text neck, is very new, primarily occurring in the modern age.
Spending extended periods in this posture results in a rounded upper back with your head hanging forward, which can aggravate neck pain and deform your spine. This hunched posture puts the body under constant stress and strain, causing a variety of musculoskeletal ailments as well as premature tissue aging. The shoulders, neck, and upper back are the locations most often reported to be uncomfortable for tech neck sufferers.
How Does One Get Tech Neck?
What are the odds that you are using your portable device to read this article and are in the dangerous position of text neck? (Definition: slouchy back, round shoulders, and forward head). Every day, people gaze at their phones for almost five hours, which can cause severe aches and pains in the neck, says chiropractor Ciara Cappo, DC, of Cappo Chiropractic & Sports Therapy. According to Harvard Medical Health researchers, seven out of ten people will, at some stage in their life, have neck pain and eventually develop tech neck wrinkles.
Effects Of Tech Neck
An individual’s head weighs ten pounds. Cappo says, “The load that your neck takes doubles for every inch your head tilts forward.” That additional tension builds up over time. The physical effects of the tech neck are as follows: The muscles, tendons, and ligament tissues located in front of the throat are compressed and tightened, and the muscles, tendons, and joint tissues behind the neck are extended.
To Text Or Not To Text?
Giving up our electronics isn’t an option. Rather, we should ensure we exercise appropriately and adopt healthy behaviors to avoid pain and discomfort related to tech neck.
When using electronic devices, it’s important to keep your neck from straining by keeping the gadget at eye level and maintaining an upright posture. You should also take frequent breaks to avoid being in one place for too long.
The optimal situation for electronics like tablets and phones that you frequently carry in your lap or resting on your chest is to sit on a seat or a couch with your head supported by the back of the device, then raise it to eye level.
Plan for regular move intervals to ensure that you’re shifting positions if that’s impossible (or if you notice yourself going back to your starting, head-down position). All of those strategies can help avoid tech neck wrinkles, however, what can be done if it has already manifested? Fortunately, there are several tech neck exercises you can perform to ease the soreness and tightness.
Tech Neck Exercises For Fast Relief
Before we dive into the exercises for tech neck there are some things you need to know.
In general, we advise carrying out the movement sessions up to three times daily with the assistance and direction of a reliable physiotherapist who customizes every plan to your unique symptoms, situation and the findings of your thorough evaluation with us.
Some of that bothersome neck pain may go away if you stretch and strengthen your muscles, suggests Aixa Goodrich DC, FMP, of South Florida Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Thus, we compiled the top equipment-free workouts and stretches with the assistance of licensed chiropractors. One to three times a day, add these into your regimen so you can show the tech neck who’s boss.
A Pronounced Nod
According to Cappo, the dramatic nod increases neck mobility and pulls your shoulders back and down to offset the forward/downward head position.
Dog That Faces Down
Goodrich notes that a downward-facing dog is helpful for loosening the shoulders and anterior chest wall, which are frequently rounded and stiffened from heavy tech use. Since the focus of this posture is upper-body strength, you may try to make up for a lack of shoulder strength by hunching your shoulders to the level of your ears. Lower the blades of your shoulder down your back consciously if you catch yourself doing this, since this will open up your neck.
Cat-Cow Stretch
The Cat-Cow flow should be driven by your pelvic and core: You make an anterior slant to the pelvis when you inhale, turning your tailbone toward the sky, and a posterior tilt when you exhale, turning your tailbone toward the ground. A significant portion of poor posture can be attributed to spinal education, which is increased by performing this movement sequence.
Padahastasana
According to Goodrich, padahastasana (also known as hand-to-foot pose) works the hamstrings and neck, which implies it targets tight hips and neck from prolonged sitting at the same time.
Bending Position
According to Marina Mangano, DC, founder of Chiro Yoga Flow, bow posture helps to counteract slouched shoulders by expanding them from the front and strengthening them from the back.
Tuck Your Chin
A quick workout you can perform at your workplace, at a stop sign, or even during an interview at work is the chin tuck. According to Cappo, this easy stretch will help strengthen the neck muscles and improve spinal awareness, which will help you realign your head.
Some Extra Tips To Avoid Becoming Overtaken By Tech Neck
So now we know a bit about tech neck, the damage it can cause and a few corrective exercises to fix your tech neck. But what are other adjustments that can help you in the use of your tech gadgets? The following are some extra helpful tips.
Modify Your Phone Holding Technique
“To avoid having your head cocked forward or too high, raise the monitor to eye level. Rather, maintain a neutral spine alignment where your ear and shoulders are in line,” advises Cappo. This will prevent you from maintaining a long-term forward-head position.
Take Phone Pauses
Even a brief break from the screen each hour can be beneficial. “My first recommendation for preventing and treating tech neck is to break the habit of staring down, but most people are unlikely to be able to do so. Therefore, I advise individuals to make an effort to intentionally take phone pauses,” says Goodrich. “Use a sticky note or set up alarms on your computer or phone. These subtle clues have a big impact.”
Check Out The Tech Neck Application.
An Android software called Tech Neck provides “immediate real-time feedback” regarding your posture, denoted by a green or red light. Additionally, you can choose to have a vibration or buzzer reminder alert you when you’ve reverted to old, unhealthy behaviors.
See A Professional If Your Pain Lasts A Long Time
Elizabeth Anderson, DC, and Erin Anderson, DC, of Twin Life Chiropractic, advise getting adjusted if you have chronic pain. Adjustments help with pain relief and correct the structural problems that tech neck causes over time.
And perhaps they have a point. According to a 2007 review by Trusted Source, one of the main non-pharmacological treatments for both acute and persistent back and neck pain is chiropractic care.
Practice Yoga For Ten Minutes
According to Goodrich, yoga is the most effective means of treating and preventing neck and back pain since it enhances movement patterns, heightens body awareness, and uses breath exercises.
Daily yoga practices can help rectify muscular imbalances, such as stiff rhomboids, which are the source of neck pain. It can be beneficial to perform the aforementioned tech neck exercises or practice yoga for ten minutes each day.
Science’s Findings Regarding Tech Neck Or Text Neck
Whether text neck is the issue it is thought to be has been debated. Recently, 150 young adults aged 18 to 21, were evaluated by researchers in Brazil, and they discovered no link between text neck and neck pain.
They did point out, though, that a high mobile phone usage rate and inactivity may be linked to back and neck pain. Thus, keep this in mind: There isn’t a single solution that can promise to make your tech-related aches go away. However, maintaining your muscles’ elasticity and activity level doesn’t hurt by stretching and working out.
Develop Better Scrolling Habits
You can prevent tech neck, straighten your posture, and maintain a pain-free, flexible neck by including these exercises in your everyday routine. Recall that consistency is essential! To get the most advantages, try to complete these exercises a few times a day and make maintaining proper posture a priority throughout the day. When you feel any pain while performing the exercises, stop and see a doctor. You may prevent your tech habits from becoming a headache by making a small effort.
