Neck pain and tech neck: a practical guide
Why your neck hurts after a day at the screen, three exercises that take two minutes, and how we treat persistent neck pain.
B.Chiro.Sc, M.Chiro (Macquarie University), AHPRA registered chiropractor
Your head weighs around five kilograms. Tilt it forward 45 degrees to look at a phone and the load on the neck muscles rises to roughly 20 kilograms. Hold that for hours a day and the muscles at the back of the neck and across the shoulders fatigue, tighten and start to ache. That is tech neck.
Three exercises, two minutes
Do these at your desk, three times a day. None should be painful.
- Chin tucks: sit tall, glide your chin straight back as if making a double chin, hold 5 seconds, repeat 10 times.
- Upper trapezius stretch: tilt your ear toward one shoulder, gently add light pressure with the hand, hold 20 seconds each side.
- Shoulder blade squeezes: draw your shoulder blades back and down, hold 5 seconds, repeat 10 times.
When the pain does not settle
If neck pain lasts more than two weeks, keeps coming back, or starts to cause headaches, an assessment is worthwhile. Alicia checks the joints of the neck and upper back, the muscles around the shoulder blades and your posture under load. Treatment usually combines gentle mobilisation or adjustment, soft-tissue release and a graded exercise plan.
Research reviews consistently find that manual therapy combined with exercise gives better results for neck pain than either on its own.
See a doctor, not a chiropractor, if you have
- Neck pain after a car accident or a fall.
- Pins and needles, numbness or weakness running into the arm or hand.
- A sudden, severe headache unlike any you have had before.
- Neck stiffness with fever or a rash.
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. It does not replace an assessment by a registered health practitioner.