As I sit on the bus and look around, most people seem to be exhibiting signs of tech neck. You might be asking yourself what is tech neck? Well, the first word being “tech”refers to technology and “neck” refers to neck pain, so when you put it all together, tech neck is pain that is often felt in the neck region that is due to the repetitive use of technology coupled with bad posture. Tech neck or upper crossed syndrome as clinicians might call it is this so-called crouched over posture with an overly rounded back, hunched shoulders, and excessively bent neck.
With the increased use of technology, people seem to be looking down on their phones more frequently, exhibiting patterns of bad posture as they are scrolling through social media, watching something on Netflix or are simply reading an article on medium as you are doing right now! The kinesiologist in me wants to go up to everyone and help them improve their posture but I figured I can help some of you out right now ! So, before I continue, do us both a favor and follow my next couple of steps and you will see why in just a moment ….
- Hold your phone with both your hands
- Place it in front of your face at a comfortable eye distance away
- Tuck elbows by your side
- Make sure your back is straight (if you’re sitting of course!)
- Place your two feet on the floor
- Bring your shoulders back
- Lower your shoulders (this will help relieve the tension in your neck)
At first, this position might feel a little awkward since for many , this posture may be slightly different from what you are used to doing as you scroll on your phone, but trust me since you followed my quick and easy steps , you will no longer be one of those people who suffer from tech neck … you’re welcome 😉
Typically, the pain felt with tech neck is not instantaneous, it will occur over time as you continue to go on about your day with bad posture. This may lead to neck, shoulder and back pain. It can also cause a lot of muscle tension in the neck, jaw and upper back region. Often, people don’t realize their bad posture simply because it has become a bad habit for most and is left unnoticed.
In some cases if left untreated, tech neck can have long term effects on your health. It can change your natural spinal curvature, you may experience nerve compression ( numbness or tingling that is felt in the arms/ neck ), you may experience muscle weakness (arms, back and shoulders) or you can suffer from chronic headaches.
No need to worry though ! This will not be the case for you! At the end of this article I’ve created a 10 minute program that can help in bettering your posture and reducing the side effects of tech neck. You will be able to go about your day reading your medium articles while maintaining good posture.
10 MIN POSTURE PROGRAM:
This quick and easy 10 minute program is meant to help medicate the signs of tech neck and help relieve any added tension to your neck and upper back.
Before you begin, here are some helpful tips 🙂
- You can do these exercises sitting or standing
- If you experience any pain or too much tension, go easy with the movements and take it slow, you are not meant to rush any of the movements
- Repeat this program whenever necessary
- Do each exercise 10 times
- Repeat each cycle 2-3 times
Exercise #1:
Shoulder retraction:( aka; bringing you shoulder back )
Think of bringing your shoulder back and opening up your chest
- Ensuring that you feel your muscles pulling between your shoulder blades
- Notice how far back your shoulders go
- Ideally your shoulders should always be in line with your body
- Return back to normal and repeat 10 times
Exercise #2:
Neck extension: ( aka: look up at the sky )
Start with your head at normal eye resting level
- In a slow motion, begin to look up and let your neck follow your eye movement as you start to look up at the ceiling
- When you reach the top hold it there for 1 second and begin your descent back to eye level
- Repeat 10 times
Exercise #3:
Head rotation: (aka; looking side to side )
Start with your head facing forward
- Think of bringing you chin to your right shoulder , hold for one second
- Do not raise your shoulder, this movement should just be focused on rotating your head following this pattern; middle → right shoulder→ middle → left shoulder → middle
- Repeat this exercise 10 times on each side
Exercise #4:
Pec stretch:
- Place both hands behind your back
- Interlace your fingers and create tension in your arms
- Keep a straight spine, make sure you feel nice and tall
- Hold for 5 seconds
- Release arms and repeat
Exercise #5:
Jaw release:
Simply start by opening your mouth , sure it might seem silly but trust me it works
- Try to overly open your jaw, doing so will release tension, many of us suffer with a tense jaw which adds to the stress that is felt through the neck
- Simply relax your jaw and open and close your mouth
- Repeat 10 times