If you’ve ever spent hours and days staring at a computer, then you’ve encountered neck pain, which is now known as Tech Neck. It can cause, in addition to neck pain and headaches, pain in the shoulders and upper back, numbness in the arms, and even loss of natural curvature of the spine. The severity of symptoms will vary from person to person and the time spent on a computer or mobile phone.
Spending long periods of time looking down at your phone can cause the neck muscles to lengthen and the chest muscles to shorten, which in turn causes an increase in pressure in the cervical spine. You should be aware of your posture during the day and correct it when you notice that you have taken an incorrect posture. So, what is the right way to sit? Stop looking down at the devices. Instead, hold or place your phone at eye level (which is good for your arm muscles), and when you’re at your computer, position it so you can look straight at it, not down. Your spine should be in a straight line from the top of your head to your tailbone, and for this you need your head to be held above the spine and not fall forward.
Symptoms
- Frequent headaches
- Tension in the upper back
- Pain in the jaw joint (Temporomandibular joint)
- Numbness in the hands
- Paresis or weakness in the hands
- Rotator cuff tendonitis (inflammation of the tendons of the rotator muscles of the shoulder)
How symptoms can be relieved:
- If your job is sitting and you need to get up and move every thirty minutes, this will start the circulation of the neck and the whole body.
- Getting a comfortable chair is also very important, so that the back is free of heavy load, so make sure you have good lumbar support. Sitting with your back bent by 30 degrees reduces stress on the neck muscles and helps your body relax while you work. Also, changing the position when texting or reading on the phone can further reduce pain. Try to lie on your back to relieve pressure on your neck to get a chance to rest.
- If possible, try to work as much as possible in a standing position.
- Stretch and strengthen the muscles of the neck, chest and upper back, as well as performing exercises that focus
The lower back and abs can also help.
What health problems can Tech Neck cause:
It can cause arthritis, poor posture can break the discs in the back and cause even more pain, if not worked to solve the problem. Poor posture can lead to inflammation in the shoulders and this condition is called subacromial impingement (it is a painful compression of one of the soft tissue structures located between the humerus and the top of the shoulder (acromion, coracromial ligament, acromioclavicular joint), during the lifting and rotation of the arm in the shoulder joint). It can also lead to a protrusion of the disc in the neck and to a narrowing of the spinal canal, i.e. to stenosis.
As the discs wear out more and more, they can also rupture and damage the nerves that will spread the pain through the hands.
If you don’t change your posture in time, there will be degenerative changes in the spine.
Exercises:
- Neck stretch – Place your wrists or fingertips on the front of your chin and gently push backwards (not up or down)
- Rotation Place one hand on the side of your face to help rotate your head in the opposite direction. Keep your chin straight, you will feel a slight stretch on both sides of the upper part of the neck.
- Lateral flexion – Reach sideways over your head and gently pull your head towards your shoulder. There will be a slight pulling sensation on the opposite side of the neck.
- Bruegger exercise – Stand up straight. Wrap the exercise band around your arms, keeping your elbows at a 90-degree angle. Spread your arms apart, straightening your elbows. Hold for 2 seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat for 2 minutes or until you feel that you can no longer perform the exercise smoothly.
There are many more varied exercises for Tech Neck, but in addition to that, there is another item in our center, and that is a neck massage known as Neck Fix, where for 15 minutes we massage and relax tension in the entire neck in detail. Primarily, this massage is intended for people who sit at the computer for a long time and where the neck is under great pressure, and our StretchWell center is here to help make the problems of an inflamed neck disappear.
