Combat Text Neck with 6 Exercises Recommended by Upper Cervical Chiropractors

Text neck affects your body by tightening the muscles in the front of your neck and stretching those in the back. Normally, your head weighs about 10 pounds, but every inch you tilt it forward doubles the strain on your neck. Over time, this can cause significant discomfort.

Avoiding phones altogether isn't realistic, but there are things we can do to help. It's important to exercise regularly and practice good habits to prevent these kinds of aches and pains.

Exercises for Alleviating Text Neck

Building up your muscles and doing stretches can ease persistent neck pain. Here are some effective equipment-free stretches and exercises to try every day, one to three times daily. This routine can really help combat neck strain caused by looking down at screens too much. 

• Exaggerated nod

The exaggerated nod helps counteract the tendency of your head to tilt forward and downward. It works by pulling your shoulders back and down, which also improves the flexibility of your neck.

How to do it

• Begin by sitting at your desk or standing comfortably with relaxed shoulders. Close your mouth gently, with your teeth touching but not clenched, and then look up towards the ceiling.
• Take a moment to let your jaw relax and open your mouth slightly wider. Then, try to tilt your head back a bit more, usually by an inch or two.
• Now, keeping your head in this position, slowly bring your lower jaw towards your upper jaw to close your mouth. You should feel a stretch in the front of your neck during this movement.

• Downward facing dog

The Downward-Facing Dog pose helps stretch out the front of your chest and shoulders, which can get tight and rounded from using technology a lot. It mainly works your upper body, so if your shoulders are weak, you might end up tensing them too much towards your ears. If you catch yourself doing that, try pulling your shoulder blades down your back. This will relieve tension in your neck and give you more room to move comfortably.

How to do it

• Start by getting on your hands and knees. 
• Curl your toes under and raise your hips upwards, aiming them towards the sky. 
• Push your heels down towards the floor without letting them touch it completely. 
• Lower your head to lengthen your neck. While holding this position, ensure your wrists are aligned straight and facing forward. 
• To reduce strain on your wrists, press into the base of your fingers and thumbs. 
• Stay in this pose, breathing deeply for at least three breaths, then gently come back down to the starting position.

• Cat cow

Your central body and hips are key in the Cat-Cow movement: When you breathe in, tilt your pelvis forward to lift your tailbone towards the ceiling; when you breathe out, tilt your pelvis backward to move your tailbone towards the ground. This motion improves your sense of your spine's position, which is important for correcting posture issues.

How to do it

• Start by positioning yourself on your hands and knees, making sure your shoulders are directly above your wrists and your hips are above your knees. 
• Press the tops of your feet into the ground. 
• Look down slightly in front of your fingers and lengthen your spine from your head to your lower back.
• To do the ‘cat’ pose, engage your abs and round your back upward toward the ceiling as you breathe out. Tuck your tailbone under like a scared cat. 
• Lengthen your neck, bringing your chin toward your chest so your ears move closer to your shoulders.
• For the ‘cow’ pose, arch your lower back downward towards the floor as you breathe in. 
• Expand your shoulder blades and draw your shoulders away from your ears. Lift your chin and chest upward, looking towards the ceiling.
• Repeat the Cat-Cow sequence a few times, making sure not to strain your head or neck.

• Bow pose

The bow pose is great for improving posture because it opens up your shoulders from the front and strengthens them from the back.

How to do it

• Lie down on your stomach with your chin touching the floor and your hands placed beside you. 
• Bend your knees and bring your heels close to your buttocks. 
• Reach back with both hands and hold onto the outer part of your ankles. As you breathe in, lift your heels upwards towards the ceiling, which will raise your chest, thighs, and upper body off the ground.
• For a deeper stretch, try to lift your heels higher while keeping your lower back pressed down. 
• Look straight ahead and relax your shoulders away from your ears. 
• Maintain this pose for about 10 breaths. When you exhale, slowly lower your thighs and then your entire body back down to the floor.

Chin tuck

The chin tuck exercise is an easy stretch you can do anywhere, like at your desk, while waiting at a red light, or even during a work meeting. This stretch is great for making you more aware of your spine and also strengthens your neck muscles to bring your head back into proper alignment.

How to do it

• Sit upright in a chair with your chin level. 
• Don't tilt your head; instead, gently pull your head and chin back as if you're trying to make a slight double chin. Be careful not to push your head too far back. You'll feel a stretch in the back of your neck.
• Now, picture a string lifting your head upward, and stretch your neck by pushing the base of your skull away from your neck base. 
• Keep your jaw relaxed and hold this pose while taking three deep breaths.
• Relax your chin forward and repeat these steps.

Avoid Succumbing to Text Neck

• Adjust Your Phone Grip

Adjust your screen so that it's at eye level. Make sure your head isn't tilted forward or raised too high. Keep your spine in a natural position, aligning your ear with your shoulders. This will prevent you from having your head bent forward for too long.

• Take phone breaks

Taking regular breaks from staring at screens can be beneficial, even if it's just for a couple of minutes every hour. It's difficult for most people to stop looking down at their devices altogether, which is my primary suggestion for avoiding and easing tech neck. Instead, I recommend that people make a conscious effort to take breaks from their phones. Setting reminders on your phone or computer, or using a sticky note as a prompt, can really help with this. These small actions can have a big impact on your comfort and health.

• Use the text neck app

There's an Android app called Text Neck that gives you instant feedback on your posture through colored lights (green for good posture, red for bad). It can also send you a vibration or beep if you start slouching again, reminding you to straighten up.

• If you experience prolonged pain, see an upper cervical chiropractor

If you have long-lasting neck pain, getting an upper cervical adjustment could be helpful. This type of adjustment can relieve pain and fix the posture problems caused by looking down at screens too much (known as "text neck"). According to a 2007 review, chiropractic care is seen as a good treatment option for both short-term and ongoing neck and back pain, without relying on medication.

Disclaimer: 

Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Corrections to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or products you obtain through this article or others.