Tech Neck Is A Real Pain

In my news feed, I came across an article, "What is 'tech neck' and how can you fix it?" Surprisingly, I've never heard of the term and I was pretty sure I had it, considering my neck and shoulder muscles are usually achy and I had just received a notification that I spent a daily average of 3 hours and 22 minutes on my phone last week.

Intrigued, I clicked.

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, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Based on that definition, I seem to check off the boxes as a tech neck sufferer.

That then cascaded into more research where I came across the image titled "Effects of Tech Neck" from the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center that was eye-opening. It showed how the angle in which we hold our head when we look down at our mobile devices, in conjunction with the sheer weight of our head (10-12 lbs), is directly related to the stress placed on our neck. The greater the angle we are looking down, the greater the strain which can be measured in pounds.

Or as Dr. K. Daniel Riew, a cervical spine surgeon puts it, "When you look down just 45 degrees, your neck muscles are doing the work of lifting an almost 50-pound bag of potatoes." If you are having trouble imagining the size of a bag of potatoes, the maximum weight allowed for checked luggage on most U.S. domestic flights is 50 pounds!

No wonder why the muscles from my shoulders to the base of my head, are constantly nagging!

Beyond the direct cause of tight muscles in the neck and upper back region, tech neck can also be responsible for other symptoms such as headaches and dizziness. In the long term, more pervasive issues like postural changes, eye strain, numbness or weakness that radiates down your arm due to a pinched nerve in your neck, or even herniated disks, can occur.

Yikes, that all sounds bad. And with the rise in the mobile device dependency and the addictive nature of the technology itself, decreasing the amount of time we spend may not be an easy or viable option.

The good news is that we can prevent and address the impacts of tech neck! 😮‍💨

One way is to improve the ergonomics when using devices by aligning your body in a neutral, upright position.

Not surprisingly, many articles also site that STRETCHING and taking frequent screen breaks to simply move, is extremely beneficial. Makes perfect sense. Our bodies are designed to walk, run, jump, and climb where movement is key to maintaining our strength, mobility, flexibility and overall general health. Our prehistoric ancestors did not spend their days sitting in a slouched position with an arm extended, staring at the rock they were holding.

As the person at the computer, working behind the scenes at Lastics, I admit that I have not been great at taking screen breaks to stretch. The irony! And with all of our workout content literally at my fingertips, I really don't have a good excuse to not stretch. How embarrassing! 🤦🏻‍♀️

After learning about tech neck and the harm it brings, I promised myself to make some lifestyle adjustments by settings timers to remind me to do the proverbial, "Practice what we preach." I'm going to start by using our Neck Release video from our Daily Stretches program to help alleviate the sore muscles around my neck and shoulders.

If you're interested in joining me, you can learn more about Daily Stretches. It's free and delivered straight to your inbox. The ten, less than 4-minute stretches in the series will cover your full body: neck, upper and lower back, arms, hips, calves and quads. They were designed to give your body quick breaks from working at a desk all day.

Drop a comment below if you have tips to share on how you ease your tech neck or ways to minimize the time spent on mobile devices. I would love to hear them. 🙂

And, even if you choose not to use our workouts, if you just read this on your phone, it's time to look up, relax your neck, and STRETCH!

Daily Stretches Preview. Get your free stretches today!