Quite regularly, I see patients presenting with pain or discomfort around the neck, shoulders, and upper back. For many of these patients, it is associated with prolonged use of electronic devices such as working or studying for long hours at the computer, or from scrolling and streaming on their smartphones and tablets. Neck pain from this prolonged use of technology is a postural condition known as “text neck.”
In this blog, we will discuss what causes text neck and how an osteopath can provide relief and manage your condition.
What is Text Neck?
Looking down at our devices for long periods can strain the muscles and joints of our neck and upper back, which can typically cause neck pain, poor posture, reduced mobility, and headaches. This strain is primarily due to poor posture while using devices for extended periods. For example, holding a smartphone down low causes your head and neck to flex forward and down. This position can lead to muscle imbalances, as the forward head position increases the weight of the head on the spine, which in turn increases the strain on the neck, shoulders, and upper back. This is demonstrated in the diagram below:
Source: Neupane, S., Ali, U.T., & Mathew, A. (2017). Text Neck Syndrome - Systematic Review. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 3.
How Can Osteopathy Help?
Osteopathy can relieve the symptoms of text neck by addressing the associated postural strains. Your osteopath will perform a postural assessment to identify what is contributing to your condition. They may then treat your neck, back, and shoulder girdle with a combination of manual therapy techniques and provide you with some management strategies. These strategies can include exercises and stretches, some of which will be demonstrated below. Since this is a postural condition associated with muscle fatigue, you should also take regular rest breaks from devices so that your body is not held in one position for an extended period. These breaks could be thirty seconds every thirty minutes.
Self-management
Below are a few examples of exercises you can do to relieve your neck pain.
Chest stretch
- Stand next to a wall or doorframe, placing your hand or elbow on it.
- Turn your chest away from the wall and you should feel a stretch in your chest muscle.
- Hold for up to 30 seconds, repeating two or three times
- You can vary this stretch by placing the arm either higher or lower on the wall.
Chin Tuck
- Sit or stand in an upright position
- Gently bring your head back in space creating a “double chin”, without tilting your head backwards
- Hold for 5-10 seconds and release. Repeating several times
Shoulder blade squeeze
- Sit or stand upright with your elbows bent and by your side.
- Make a “thumbs up” and pointing the thumbs outwards so your palm would be face up.
- Squeeze the shoulder blades by pointing behind you with both hands.
- Hold for up to 30 seconds, repeating two or three times
Wall angels
- Stand with your back and head against the wall
- Raise your raise your arms extending overhead in a Y shape.
- Slide your arms down the wall by bring your elbows in towards your sides then returning to the start position, maintaining contact with the wall.
- Repeat 10-15 times
This article is for information purposes only. Please consult your CHH primary healthcare professional for further information.