Are you feeling the repercussions of tech neck? Whether you’re looking down at your devices, spending a lot of time at the kitchen counter, leaning into a computer screen or lying down with your head forward on the pillow while watching tv or reading in bed, you may be causing a postural misalignment in your cervical spine area (the neck). Done habitually the heavy head may reposition itself in front of the shoulders and collar bone. Over time this can cause muscle fatigue, spine & shoulder joint pain, headaches, nerve impingement and apply pressure to discs between the vertebrae. Can this be corrected? Absolutely.

With a bit of awareness to modify head positions, limiting the amount of time the head falls forward and doing some exercises to reverse the overuse damage of a regular downward head tilt, you can create improvement in this tender area. Your chiropractor and massage therapists will be grateful! These exercises can easily be done at home or places of employment to provide relief.

Next time: Floor exercises for tech neck and posture improvement

Spine Extension:

1) Stand against a pillow, book or yoga block on the wall placed near the upper back and below the neck.

2) Start in your usual stance, place your fingers on your nose. While keeping the nose pointing to the hand, inhale and pull the face away. Hold extension for a breath or 2 and allow the head to return to a natural position as you exhale.

3) Repeat this backwards action 6-8 times as you keep the shoulders down and away from the ears. Initially try doing these extensions only 1-2x week to avoid soreness or headaches as you teach the muscles to pull the head back into realignment.

Head Rotation/Neck Stretch:

1) Maintain the on-the-wall position (or sit tall in a chair) and slowly turn the head to the side without dropping the chin.

2) Tilt the ear back SLIGHTLY towards the wall; place fingertips firmly just below the opposite collar bone to gently hold the collar bone in place. This will allow for a stretch along the side and front of the neck on the open side of the face.

3) Release the fingers and head tilt before slowly returning the face forward. Repeat to the other side and do daily if you can.

photos taken by and include Laurie Surey,

E’s Into Wellness & Ocean Pearl Yoga

Techniques for Tech Necks