Do you have an achy pain in the back of your neck, at the base of your skull, or down into the backs of your shoulders? If so, you may be suffering from one of the most common causes of neck pain: Tech Neck or Text Neck.
This condition is common among desk workers, crafters, or your average teenager trying to determine whether Brian will ask them to homecoming. Commonly, this condition appears near the end of the day, presenting itself as a dull ache that can turn into a headache. However, presentation can vary depending on when the problem behaviors occur.
What Is Tech Neck?
“Tech Neck” represents a larger category of neck issues caused by looking down at our work. This work could be a drawing, paperwork, or most commonly phones and computer monitors, hence the term Tech Neck.
Causes
Tech Neck is caused by an activity where the you’re looking down for a long time. This could be from work, like mentioned above, or even from poor posture. Leaning a head forward an inch to look at a monitor is not going to cause the same strain as looking straight down while watching the last season of Dexter on your phone.
Not all looking down is the same either—as soon as another plane of motion is added (rotation or side bending), more strain is added to the neck. For example, think about looking down to write, the head is looking down and rotating from side to side. That increases the work that the neck must do. The final factor is time on the task. So, more prolonged positions are going to further exacerbate the condition.
Why Does Tech Neck Happen?
Why is looking down for a long time an issue? Well, because the human head is a 10-pound bowling ball that is supposed to sit over the C7 vertebra at the base of the neck. This puts all that weight over the scaffolding of the ribs, sternum, and collar bones. It also keeps the natural curve of the neck.
When looking down, that 10-pound bowling ball is in front of that scaffolding, so the muscles in the back of the neck have to hold up the head, and the bones and joints of the neck are put at a structural disadvantage.
A rule of thumb is that every inch the human head moves forward equates to about 10 extra pounds on the neck. So, leaning a head forward an inch to look at a computer monitor effectively doubles the work a neck has to do. This puts a strain on the intervertebral discs, muscles, and facet joints of the neck. All this extra stress and strain on these structures leads to disc degeneration, muscle inflammation, strains, and arthritis.
How Do I Get Rid of Tech Neck?
1. Behavioral Changes
Fortunately, Tech Neck is extremely treatable with behavior change, stretching, exercise, and chiropractic care. Tech Neck, especially in the beginning phase of the condition, is a postural syndrome, which means it can be effectively eliminated by stopping the behavior.
Making the change to stop looking down or leaning the head forward can be as simple as lifting the phone up to eye level, adjusting the monitor to eye level, or getting an easel to draw on. Essentially, any ergonomic posture where you’re not putting your head or neck in poor positions can help manage and prevent Tech Neck.
The downside is that it’s not always possible to adjust what a person is doing so they don’t have to look down. In those cases, frequent breaks (every 30 minutes) will help mitigate the pressure being put on the neck.
2. Stretching & Physical Therapy
For those who can’t adjust their ergonomics or those who have already had damage caused by the Tech Neck position, stretching and exercises can effectively control the condition. Neck stretching helps to relax the overworked muscles so they can get proper blood flow and recover from the damage.
Neck stretches should be done at the beginning and after the problem activity. You can click here for a good neck stretching protocol to follow. If you do not have time for a full stretch routine, focus on the Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae stretch.
Similarly, neck exercises can help with blood flow for recovery, but they have the added benefit of strengthening the muscle to better handle the increased load everyday life can cause. You can find a good exercise program here. These exercises should only be done once a day, so pick a time that you can do them every day because consistency is key.
Chin tucks are also an additional exercise worth focusing on. Chin tucks are a direct counter to the forward head position caused by Tech Neck. They are low force and can be done frequently during the problem activity.
3. Chiropractic Care
Finally, the most effective treatment for Tech Neck is chiropractic care. Chiropractic care focuses on realignment of the spine to counter the misalignment(s) from poor posture. The adjustment helps break up fibrous adhesions that have built up with the condition, as well as promote free movement of the facet joints that can be restricted with the sustained poor posture of Tech Neck. A Chiropractor will be able to put together an effective care plan that can help conquer those behavior changes, direct through the stretches and exercise progression, as well as prevent the condition from returning.
Prevent Tech Neck at Total Health Systems
Tech Neck is a postural disorder that, if left untreated, can become a debilitating condition, and remember—it’s not limited to technology; any work that requires us to move the head forward or down for prolonged periods can lead to it. But, the good news is that it can be easily managed with behavior change, exercise, stretching, and chiropractic care.
If you’re currently experiencing pain from Tech Neck or are looking for ways to prevent this condition, please schedule a consultation at Total Health Systems at one of our six southeast Michigan locations.
