What is 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.
Looking down at a screen and not keeping a neutral spine position amounts to a huge amount of strain on neck and postural muscles.
This leads to a weakness in the upper back, tightness in the front of the chest, forward protruding chin, and pain into the head neck and shoulders.
Over the past year, a rapid rise in Australians have been developing many neck-related issues, which have impacted their quality of life, mental health, concentration and general wellbeing.
Data that surveyed 1,003 Australian adults showed Neck discomfort (42%), neck stiffness (42%), neck pain (39%), tension headaches (36%), and migraines (25%) were the most common neck-related issues reported by Australians in the past 12 months. While over a third (34%) admitted their pain has caused physical exhaustion and forced them to be less mobile (21%), the impact of neck pain goes far beyond physical symptoms, with more than half of those surveyed experiencing sleep loss (52%), mental exhaustion (32%), lowered concentration levels (39%), feeling more irritated (38%) and affecting people’s ability to work (21%).
Almost a third (30 per cent) of Australians said that on average, every hour they reach for their phone between five to 30 times, and one in ten admitted to doing so 40 times or more.
Do you have a sore neck whilst reading this?
Lets start to fix it !
What do I do?
Change how you hold your phone - bring the screen to eye level so your head is not slouched forward or too high. Instead, keep a neutral spine so your ear is in line with your shoulders
Consider your ergonomic work station- Your desk should be set up so your elbows are at least 90 degrees, your seat should be supportive, your feet flat on the floor, knees at 90 degrees or slightly higher, neck nice and long - feel like someone is pulling your spine from above, lean slightly forward so you feel your tummy muscles engage, tuck your chin into your chest slightly so you are pointing your chin away from your neck. Voila!
Start a regular exercise routine
. Clinical Pilates is the perfect way to start to undo what you have done to your body in a gentle holistic way- programmed by Physiotherapists to make your journey specific and injury free. We would include the following in your program.
Mobility
Flexibility
Upper back and neck strength
Upper chest strength and flexibility
Core endurance and strength
Lower body strength and flexibilty
Postural awareness and endurance
Foam Roller exercises and stretches are great to start today, so lets fix that pain in the neck..Get moving!
References:
i Consumer research conducted by Pure Profile, April 2022.
ii Text Neck Syndrome in Children and Adolescents. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7914771/ .
iii Social Connectedness, Excessive Screen Time During COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of Current Evidence. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2021.684137/full .
iv Aussies spend almost 17 years in a lifetime staring at their phones. Available at: https://www.reviews.org/au/mobile/aussie-screentime-in-a-lifetime/ .
v Effectiveness of exercise in office workers with neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6093121/ . Accessed in April 2022.
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