“Tech Neck”: Heat Plus Three Desk Stretches

Look around any MRT carriage and you’ll see it: dozens of heads tilted down at phones. Hold that for long enough, often enough, and the muscles at the back of your neck ache by evening. “Tech neck” is the nickname for the result.

What’s actually happening

Our human adult head weighs around 5 kg (yes, and sometimes more too).

Sitting balanced over your shoulders, the muscles do very little work. Tip it forward and those muscles have to hold the weight out in front, like holding a bowling ball at arm’s length. The further forward, the harder they work.

Do that for hours and the muscles fatigue and ache. That’s the whole mechanism. Tender spots often build up in the same muscles: muscle knots, heat and a massage ball.

Worth saying clearly: looking down at your phone is not wrecking your spine. There’s no good evidence that posture alone causes lasting damage, and plenty of people with “bad posture” have no pain at all. The problem is holding any position for too long without a break. Duration matters more than the angle.

The evening fix

1. Sit upright with the pad over the back of your neck and the tops of your shoulders, cover on, lowest setting, 15 minutes. A wrap stays put on a neck better than a flat pad: heated wraps vs a flat pad.
2. Chin tucks: slide the chin straight back without dropping your head. Hold 3 seconds, 10 times.
3. Side tilts: ear towards shoulder, hold 15 seconds each side.
4. Shoulder blade squeezes: back and down, hold 5 seconds, 10 times.

More on neck heat: heating pad for neck pain and stiffness. If the ache reaches your head, see tension headaches; if it settles between the shoulder blades, shoulder blade pain.

Changing the habit

• Raise the phone, don’t lower your head. Hold it closer to eye level. You’ll look slightly odd for a week and then stop noticing. Your thumbs benefit too: thumb and wrist pain from phone use.
• Move every 30 minutes. Not a posture rule, a variety rule. Look up, roll the shoulders, change position.
• Prop the tablet. A stand or case at an angle beats flat on a table.
• Voice notes and calls for long messages, so your head isn’t down.
• Fix the desk too. Most people’s phone habit sits on top of eight hours at a low laptop screen. See upper back pain from desk work, and if the office is freezing as well, the cold office.
• Strengthen. Necks tolerate load better when the surrounding muscles are conditioned. Rows, band pull-aparts and general upper body work help more than endless stretching.
• Watch the stress side. Shoulders creep up when you’re under pressure: stress and tight shoulders.

Teenagers

Neck and upper back aches in teenagers are common and usually come from the same thing: hours of phone, laptop and gaming. Movement breaks and screen position help, same as for adults. The lower back version is sitting back pain from gaming and study.

A heat pad is reasonable for a teenager with adult rules; see heating pads and children.

See a doctor or physio if…

• Pain, numbness, tingling or weakness travels into your arm or hand
• You feel clumsy with your hands, or unsteady on your feet
• Neck pain comes with headache, dizziness, double vision or trouble swallowing
• A stiff neck comes with fever, a rash, or dislike of bright light. Go to A&E.
• The ache doesn’t settle after two weeks of breaks, movement and heat. A daily background stiffness in an older neck may be neck arthritis.

Clinically reviewed by: Nigel Chua (Hand Occupational Therapist) & Louise Yow (Physiotherapist). This article is general information, not a diagnosis. electricheatpad.com sells electric heat pads.