Do you spend most of the day hunched over staring at the screen of your smartphone or tablet? Do your shoulders, neck and upper back often feel stiff by the end of a busy day? You may be suffering from a condition colloquially known as Tech Neck.

Tech Neck, as it is known refers to the strain in your neck and shoulder muscles that develops as a result from excessively craning your neck down when you are looking at a phone or a portable tablet device.

Did you know……. There are ways you can limit the amount of time we spend hunched over a screen, these include:

• For every 15 – 20 minutes you spend on your device you should take a 3 minute break.
• Limit yourselves to periods of 15 – 20 minutes where possible
• Rather than hunching forward to look at your screen, sit up straight and bring your phone or tablet up to eye level
• Making sure you’ve got the right posture can also be crucial.
• Make sure to listen to your body. If you have any aches and pains in your neck, shoulders and upper back, it usually means something is not working properly.
• We also recommend doing some small stretches to relieve the tension in your upper body. Bend your neck to the right so that your ear moves closer to your shoulder. Relax and hold for 20 seconds. Return to centre, and then repeat the move to the left. Do a repetition of five. A further exercise is to do a simple chin tuck. Tilt your head down and tuck your chin into your neck. Hold for five seconds, and then look back up. Do a repetition of ten. These exercises will help release any tension that might be created due to excessive strain from hunching over
• For most people, the computer screen is located below your natural eye line leaving your head and shoulders to naturally hunch downwards. By raising your computer screen to your eye level you will force yourself to keep your head in a more natural position
•  Make sure to listen to your body. If you have any aches and pains in your neck, shoulders and upper back, it usually means something is not working properly.

For further information on sitting ergonomics or comments, please contact Louis Westerbeek at Back-in-Action on 01772 749245 or email at reception@back-in-action.com

To learn more about factors affecting you back and spine health have a look at our ‘mind your posture’ page for further advice on optimising your posture during your daily activities.