I love blogging. I spend most of my day writing and have a comfy desk and chair, big screen, and beautiful view of trees and mountains. But summer arrived, and I thought, Wouldn’t it be nice to write from the porch, the yard, the couch, anywhere my phone could go? It felt freeing … until it didn’t.
I started to feel pain up my neck. Inflammation spread over my shoulder. It was hard to lift my arm. My fingers were a little numb. The pain was constant, even when I was sitting still. I tried to think if I had lifted anything heavy. Did I swim too hard last time I was in the pool? Then I went to text a friend and realized the pain was strongest as I held my phone.
I looked up my symptoms to see if they could be caused by excessive smartphone use. Sure enough, I discovered tech neck is very common, especially for people like me who spend hours on phone screens without paying attention to posture. Tech neck was a wakeup call, and I knew something had to change.
What Is Tech Neck?
Tech neck is an injury caused by repetitive strain from using technology. It’s common to develop tech neck from using smartphones too often without a break. The injury comes from the poor posture of hunching over the device with head down for long periods of time. The neck, shoulders, and back become strained, causing pain and inflammation. When nerves are affected, this can lead to tingling in the hands and arms.
Blogging on my phone for hours at a time meant I was hunched over in one position. I paid no attention to my posture. I had no back or neck support. I felt pain points at the top of my shoulder and base of my skull, along with inflammation and nerve compression across my upper back. The pain was predominant on the left side where I was holding the phone, and the problem extended to my left knee and foot because everything was out of alignment.
Tech neck isn’t just a blogger problem. Students, remote workers, anyone who scrolls on their smartphone for long periods of time, without a break, can experience tech neck. It sneaks up on you too. I wasn’t aware of it until the damage was done. In hindsight, I had one clue: I developed a blister on my left pinky finger from supporting the phone in my hand. That should have been a hint something was wrong. A few days later, the overwhelming pain set in.
How I Recovered, and What I Do Differently Now
For the first few days, I had to stop using my phone to write. To answer incoming calls, I left the phone on a table and pressed the speaker button. Thankfully, I was going out of town on a client project where I wouldn’t require much phone use. I got a break of about a week. That helped. But I knew I had to make fundamental changes too.
For writing, I returned to my desk. It’s a more ergonomic setup with monitor and keyboard at the proper height. Even then, I realized the importance of taking more breaks at set intervals, and doing light shoulder stretches in between writing sessions. And I’ve rediscovered how much faster I type on a keyboard than using two thumbs.
When I use the smartphone, I’ve learned to raise it to eye level and keep a healthier posture. I limit my phone time to short tasks with breaks in between. I’ve also started switching hands/arms for phone use, and I try to prop up the phone so I’m not holding its full weight. Smartphones may seem light, but they’re actually heavy for holding in one position over long periods of time.
Now I only use the phone for what I can’t do at my desk computer–texting, jotting notes when I’m out, quick phone stuff. For writing sessions, I am sticking with the desk computer. I stay aware of my posture while sitting at the desk, so I’m not tempted to hunch over again.
When to See a Chiropractor for Tech Neck
I’m a big fan of chiropractic. It’s helped me on numerous occasions. Chiropractic can be a big help for tech neck too. Chronic pain, numbness, tingling, limited range of motion are all indicators that chiropractic care might be helpful.
When the body is injured, surrounding muscles often get strained in trying to help the injured area. As the injury continues–as it does in a repetitive strain situation like tech neck–other areas start to get affected, like I experienced with my knee and foot pain. The body is so interconnected that a pain in one area can affect lots of areas.
That’s where chiropractic help is so valuable. A chiropractor can help put all those parts back into their proper alignment, restoring mobility and relieving muscle tension and nerve compression. Chiropractors can also help with posture coaching and give simple home exercises to improve posture. For frequent tech users, this coaching can prevent pain from poor tech posture.
Technology gives us so much freedom to work anywhere. But that freedom shouldn’t come at the cost of our comfort and health. I’ve learned to be mindful of my habits: posture, breaks, stretching. If you’re a big tech user, I would encourage you to develop healthy habits now and not wait for pain to set in.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. I’m a content writer, not a medical professional. For questions about your health, please consult a licensed healthcare provider.
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Janet Eriksson 