Tech Neck - also referred to as Text Neck- is the same name for an old issue: neck pain caused by repetitive strain from looking down at your cell phone, computer, or tablet. How do you know if you have Tech Neck? Check out these symptoms:

Pain in the back of the neck with looking down
Increasing neck stiffness that gets worse as the day goes on
Pain or discomfort that reaches into the shoulder blades
Tension headaches
Possible numbness and tingling in the arms and/or hands
Tightness in the front of the neck and shoulders (slumped posture)
Feeling like your head is heavy and needs more and more support

How does Tech Neck happen? When the head is pointed down (flexion) the weight of the cranium increases tension on the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints in the spine. Since a normal head weights approximately 10-12 pounds, the stress on these structures becomes more than the body can tolerated so the muscles have to elongate past their resting length. The muscles in the front of the neck become shortened and weak as a result. Over time, this can lead to impingement of the nerves going down the arm and causes more severe symptoms including numbness and tingling.

How can you fix Tech Neck? Stop looking down at your phone, computer, or tablet for hours on end. Make sure your device screen is at eye level, limit sitting for long periods of time, and do these simple sitting exercises 3 times per day. If your pain and symptoms persist, manual therapy and dry needling may be needed to get you back to baseline.

Give it a try!

PS- Try these 4 simple moves laying down for even more Tech Neck relief!