Tech / Text Neck
By Daniel Jang
What is tech/text neck?
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Tech neck is a term referring to tension neck syndrome where the muscles and joints of the neck may be affected due to various reasons. Contributing factors usually involve poor postural mechanics, heavy use of technology such as smart phone devices, and sometimes a poor workplace set up.
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It affects one in 5 Australians especially females aged 31-40. Overall, it is costing Australia approximately $55 billion annually due to lost productivity and health costs. Unfortunately, people with hypermobility ('double jointed' folk) have a higher risk of developing tech neck due with more adverse effects.
Symptoms to look out for:
- Noticeable forward head posture(from a side view your head is sitting far forwards compared to your shoulder), noticeable 'slump' posture.
- Increased muscle tone of the neck and upper shoulders
- Neck pain with movement, prolonged sitting or when you are on your scrolling on your phone
- Decreased range of motion and increased stiffness of the neck(it might also be harder to do shoulder checks)
- Feeling of pins and needles and numbness might in arms and hands
- Headaches that are often present with neck pain
Things that you can do:
- Keep your neck in 'neutral' to decrease mechanical load (see diagram above - further you tilt head down, the more weight the neck muscles have to carry!)
- Take frequent breaks from your device, once every 30 minutes
- Incorporate gentle range of movement exercises for your neck and shoulder
- Check work/home set up with a checklist or with your health professional
- Retrain joint awareness and muscular endurance of the neck such as the deep neck flexors and postural muscles of the upper and lower back depending on individual presentation
- Self management techniques, release muscles that can contribute to bad posture
- Check in with your Physio or GP to rule out serious conditions and start a individual home exercise program
Some things that you want to avoid with a symptomatic tech neck:
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- Working in your bed or on a couch as this affects your posture
- Cradling your phone between your ear and shoulder, this increases muscle strain on one side
- Carrying heavy bags especially when you have neck/upper trap pain or pins and needles in your arms
- Sleeping on your stomach, this position does not let your neck muscles fully relax
- Driving long distances without rest, this increases tension and fatigue through the postural muscles
Tech neck is affecting more and more people, hopefully this article gives you some insight that you can apply for yourself.
Motion is Lotion and If in doubt, get it checked out. :)
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​​​Need some help relieving that persistent neck pain? Daniel is ready and waiting to help you with your recovery. If you would like to make an appointment, click here to make an online booking, or call (07) 3211 7011 to speak with our friendly reception staff.
