Text neck is the strain that builds in your neck and shoulders when you spend long stretches looking down at a phone, tablet or laptop. The further your head tips forward, the more load your neck muscles carry, so a habit that feels harmless for five minutes can leave you stiff and sore after hours of scrolling. Small changes to how you hold your screen, and how often you move, can ease it.
Why looking down is so hard on your neck
Your neck muscles hold up the weight of your head all day. The Cleveland Clinic health article on tech neck explains that the demand on those muscles rises with every 15 degrees you tip your head forward:
- A slight glance down makes your head act like a weight of about 27 pounds
- A 30 degree tilt raises that to about 40 pounds
- Bending far forward to read a phone held near your lap can put upwards of 60 pounds of force on your neck
A quick look down isn’t the problem. Cleveland Clinic points to sustained scrolling, day after day, as the point where the strain builds. The same thing happens at work, which is why text neck so often shows up alongside desk-related posture strain.
Signs of text neck
According to Cleveland Clinic, the most common signs are stiffness, soreness or sharp pain in the neck and shoulders. Text neck can also cause:
- Headaches
- Numbness or tingling in the arm, hand or fingers, from nerve irritation
- Fatigue
Headaches that start at the base of the skull are often the tension type, and telling tension headaches from migraines can help you sort out which one you have. Kids and teens aren’t immune either. Phones, tablets and homework pull their heads forward too, and screen habits are one of the usual suspects behind back pain in kids and teens.
What helps
Cleveland Clinic’s advice comes down to three habits:
- Raise the screen. Bring your phone or tablet closer to eye level so you can look straight ahead instead of tipping your chin down.
- Keep changing position. Staying in one pose for long builds strain. In the article’s words, “the best posture is a moving posture.”
- Take breaks. Notice how long you’ve been on a handheld device and put it down regularly.
At a desk, the same idea applies to your monitor. OSHA’s computer workstation guide to monitors recommends placing the monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away, with the top line of the screen at or below eye level.
When to get neck pain checked
The Mayo Clinic guide on when to see a doctor for neck pain says to call 911 or go to the ER for severe neck pain that comes with:
- A car accident, diving accident or fall
- Weakness in an arm or leg, or trouble walking
- A high fever
Make an appointment with your doctor if neck pain gets worse despite self-care, lasts several weeks, spreads down your arms or legs, or comes with a headache, weakness, numbness or tingling.
Where chiropractic may fit
If stiffness keeps coming back even after you change your screen habits, it helps to have someone look at how your neck and upper back are moving. At Radiant, care for tech neck and neck stiffness starts with your history and a hands-on check of your posture and movement, and Dr. Williams refers you to your physician if anything points to a medical cause. If headaches are part of the picture, neck pain chiropractic care looks at both together.
Neck stiff after a day on screens?
We’ll look at how your neck and upper back are moving and talk through what we find.
Sources
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. For questions about your own health or your child’s, talk with your doctor, OB, midwife or pediatrician.
From the team at Radiant Chiropractic, 8090 Precinct Line Rd, Ste 101, Colleyville, TX.
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