Stretches to Alleviate Tech Neck
Tech Neck
Whether you call it neck pain, upper back pain, or tensions in your neck and shoulders, if you're spending a lot of time working at a computer, driving, or looking at your cellphone, then this is what I'm talking about when I use the term "tech neck." As bad as the feeling of achiness and stiffness can be for these upper body tensions, these symptoms are only the beginning of what could develop into a far worse problem.
Complications
If you're feeling discomfort in your upper back, neck, and/or shoulders, and your doctor has verified that there are no other conditions that may be contributing to your problem, then the culprit is likely excessive tension originating from the front of your body -- causing a lot of extra work for the muscle on the posterior side of your spine. What might start as achiness, stiffness, and tension can eventually progress into a visible change in posture. This is because our posture is mostly dictated by the tension balance in our network of muscles. Even if you try to force a good posture, if muscles are excessively long and other muscles are excessively short you might be putting yourself through a lot of strain to force a "good posture," if you can accomplish that feat at all.
Aside from the undesirable look of a bad posture, a slouching form creates its own problems that "intenstify" the pains of the imbalance in muscular tension, itself. Primarily, with "tech neck," there tends to be a forward-head posture. Forward-head posture, as the name implies, is when the head is forward of the upper back's spine (the thoracic spine). When your head hangs forward of your thoracic spine, this position adds leverage from gravity pulling down on your head, resulting in exponentially harder work for the muscles of your neck and back. If fighting muscle tension from the anterior muscles wasn't bad enough, then doing all that against leverage is far worse. If the slouching, "nerdy" posture is too chronic, it could even lead to muscle strains, eventually.
Strains are definitely bad; they are tears in the muscle. If a muscle is tearing because it is overworked from a bad posture, things will only get worse from there if nothing is done to correct this situation. A small strain can become a bigger one, and a smaller stimulus can cause the same or worse amount of discomfort once the muscle is torn. Even without the muscle strain, but probably in addition to it, the tilt this technology-created slouch puts on the vertebrae could eventually cause constant crepitus and could even encourage bulging discs. I have met many clients that actually suffered from stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal cord's canal, because of a severe and chronic forward-head posture. This stenosis can lead to cervical vertigo, numbness in limbs, and even paralysis if things get bad enough. One client of mine would have unexpected paralysis of both of his arms at seemly random times of the day.
Finding Relief
Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash
The good news is I have helped this same client to obtain long-lasting relief from every one of his symptoms -- including his crepitus. And, the best part is it involved no drugs, just massage techniques that involved targeted stretches and some changes to his workplace ergonomics. His other option would have been a potentially lethal neck surgery, if the bodywork did not improve things.
What You Can Do About It
Firstly, as I tell all my clients, the most impactful thing that anyone can do to find long-lasting relief from the aches and pains associated with typing, driving, and any other work we do with our shoulders and head curling forward is to improve our ergonomics. This essentially means changing your work environment in such a way that it is difficult not to be in a good posture comfortably.
For example, if you are a software developer and spend 8 hours per day hunched over a laptop, it's probably a good idea to put your laptop up high enough that you can comfortably see the screen while reclined back into a good, straight posture. A bluetooth keyboard and mouse combination such as the one shown below is very affordable and will allow you to put the keyboard and mouse in the perfect spot for you to comfortably work with your shoulders and head back in a good position. You can click on the pictures provided to view more details about these items from the vendor.
View this keyboard at Amazon
Of course, the right chair is critical. Experts agree that an ideal posture for working long hours in a seated position is a posture in which you can recline back while keeping your back straight. Bodyworkers such as massage therapists and physical therapists know that this means keeping your shoulders open and your head in line with your thoracic spine. It seems that any computer chair is marketed as "ergonomic," but don't let buzzwords mislead you.
We've all been there. We've been at a school or office where they have computer chairs that might feel comfy at first, but after even an hour in that position, our upper back and neck start getting achy (tech neck). That discomfort that begins to set in is due to a lack of support for the entire spine. Many so-called ergonomic chairs are designed for you to sit up straight, which bears weight on your spine, and encourages anterior pelvic tilt. The nature of working at a keyboard encourages the shoulders and consequently the head to come forward. Now, you're upper back and neck muscles are not only doing all the work to try to keep you sitting up, but they're also fighting leverage while trying to keep your head up. This results in those muscles burning out quickly. And, if this abuse keeps up for too long, it could result in subtle injuries which eventually grow into more serious problems.
The above information is exactly why the best position to work in for long periods of time, if you're going to stay seated for the entire duration, is a reclined position that supports your neck and back in a good, straight posture. But, don't forget about your legs. Again, any so-called ergonomic computer chair ad will claim that the manufacturers thought about your legs, too. However, do you really think it's ideal for blood flow for your knees to be bent at a 90-degree angle or at an even more acute angle? Not to mention, with these chairs that don't provide full leg support, you're going to get excessive pressure where the seat of the chair ends.
There is a myriad of health issues that can occur from having excessive pressure on the backs of your knees and thighs:
- Blood clots might eventually form over time
- Spider veins and varicose veins
- Piriformis syndrome (which might be erroneously described as "sciatica")
- Numbness, tingling, and other symptoms related to chronic compression of nerves.
- Even ED can occur if the pelvic floor receives too much pressure too often.
For all the above reasons listed, make sure your computer chair is capable of supporting your legs with only a slight bend in your knees. If you already have a good chair that you don't want to part with, but it doesn't support your legs, a leg rest or ottoman might be the way to go. Otherwise, in my opinion, the chair shown below is very ideal for keeping you out of pain and in good health.
View this chair on Amazon
Stretches
Pectoral Stretch
Once you have the ergonomics in place, you might find that your symptoms already start to go away. Another good thing to think about is how the muscles are pulling on the posture. Typically, with a job that involves a lot of sitting and working at a keyboard, the pectoral muscles begin to get short and tight. Many people don't realize that, to help your shoulders come back and to help your head be held high, you must have enough length in your pectoral muscles (pecs) to to allow that to happen. In fact, you could say that the root of hyperkyphosis (a forward curving of your upper back) is short pecs. So, stretching the pectoral muscles on a regular basis can actually help you to stand taller and improve your posture. This tends to result in a reduction in the amount of pain and discomfort in your upper back, shoulder, neck, and even your head.
One easy stretch to for the pecs is the "doorway" stretch. To do this stretch, you can do as depicted above and hold onto a wall. Next roll your chest away from the wall until you feel a stretch in your pectoral muscle. There are various ways of doing this:
- You can literally grab onto a doorway with both arms and move your chest forward through the doorway until you feel a stretch in both sides of your chest.
- You can isolate the pec muscles by placing your elbow on a corner or a door frame and turning away from your elbow.
- If you do this stretch with your wrist or hand fixed into place and with your arms extended, you will get a pec and bicep stretch.
"Prayer" Stretch
Another good stretch to help the shoulders come back and to take pressure off your neck and upper back is what I call the "prayer" stretch. This stretch helps to give you full range of motion in your shoulders, lengthens the traps and teres major, and gives you the muscle length you need in those areas to improve posture while alleviating tension in the upper back, neck, and shoulders. To do this, kneel down in front of the support you are using, place your elbows on the object that you've chosen to be your support, and bend at the hips while keeping a straight spine. It helps to keep our head up. The most natural and comfortable position for this tends to be a position with your hands together above your elbows. Since this position looks so much like someone is praying, that's why I refer to it as the "prayer stretch." Below is a video of someone demonstrating this stretch and even referring to it by the same name.
Video by TruMotion Therapy
One last, key stretch that I want to share with you is the "rag stretch." We have many muscles that attach to our scapulae and the condition of these muscles can affect our posture, the amount of discomfort we feel in our back, and the range of motion that we have in our shoulders. To perform this stretch, all you need is some sort of tether, such as a towel or rag, to grab onto. Stand tall and straight, hold one end of the rag behind your head so that the rag dangles down behind your back. Next, grab the lower end of the rag with your other hand and gently pull it down. The shoulder on the side that is holding the top part of the rag behind your head will feel a stretch. Be careful to maintain a good posture in this stretch. And, remember, any stretch you do should not hurt; it should be very comfortable. Above all, remember that this blog is not medical advice. If you think anything mentioned in my blog might be good for you, please consult with a physician and make sure that you are safe to be attempting any of these things.
"rag" stretch
If you would like to see a demonstration on how to do the towel stretch for your shoulders, check out the one I embedded below:
Video by AskDoctorJo
As always, I hope this post has provided you with some valuable information. I create content about holistic wellness and nature on several different platforms. Follow me on the following media to see my content:
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