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What Is "Text Neck"?

Essica Rahman -

Our modern-day lifestyle is unfortunately conducive to poor posture and stiff muscles. Most of us spend over half of our days hunched over a computer or laptop screen. Then, when we get home from work, we spend our time scrolling on our phones.

All of this technology usage results in your neck being placed in a suboptimal position. This eventually leads to something called text neck or text neck syndrome, where the neck and trapezius muscles become stiff and sore due to being held in a poor position for long periods of time.

Text neck syndrome occurs over several months or even years. It results from ongoing, repetitive stress to the neck. When your head is constantly in a forward position, it impacts the curvature of the spine and affects all of the muscles and ligaments around your cervical spine.

What Are the Symptoms of Text Neck Syndrome?

The most common symptoms of text neck syndrome are:

  • Pain in the neck or shoulders
  • Tightness in the neck and shoulders
  • Decreased range of motion in the upper body
  • Headaches
  • Tingling in the upper limbs
  • Eye pain

How Can You Overcome Text Neck Syndrome?

Here are some exercises to reduce your symptoms or prevent text neck syndrome from developing.

  • Chin tuck - gently tuck your chin into your chest and hold for 5-10 seconds. Do this exercise three times over, once a day.
  • Head lift - carefully tilt your head back as far as is comfortable to look up to the ceiling and hold for 5-10 seconds. Perform this exercise once a day.
  • Scapular retraction - pull your shoulders back by contracting your lats. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat this three to four times. Repeat this stretch daily.
  • Foam rolling - use a foam roller to relieve tension in the upper back muscles. Try to foam roll once every week. Chest stretch - place one of your hands on a wall or door and gently twist your torso the opposite way to stretch the chest muscles (pectoralis muscles). Hold this position for 15-20 seconds and repeat on the other side. Repeat this stretch daily.

Try a combination of these exercises every day for a couple of weeks, and you should start to notice that your symptoms are reducing. It may take several weeks for the symptoms to completely vanish, and you should continue the stretches for a while after to return your upper body muscles to a relaxed state.