Tech Neck - You Probably Have It

In a world full of smartphones, laptops and tablets, its hard to avoid this 21st century syndrome. In this blog we’ll break down how a thoughtless act can cause such detrimental effects to your body. We will be highlighting everything you need to know about Tech Neck, including why you probably have it, and how to get rid of it.

What Is It?

So what exactly is Tech Neck? Well in simple terms, Tech Neck can be described as a repetitive stress injury to the neck as a result of holding your head in a forward/downward position for an extended period of time. Sound familiar? 

Why You Probably Have It?

With the 24-hour access to entertainment at our fingertips, it's only natural that screen time is on the rise.  A study from Huawei, in partnership with Decibel Research, found that the average Australian spends up to 2.5 hours on their phone per day (17.5 Hours per week). This accumulates to 15% of time spent awake hunched down looking at our phones. Not ideal.

Why Is It Causing You Pain?

The neck is designed to hold your head upright, so when you are looking down for extended periods of time, you are causing massive stress to a fragile muscle which results in extreme tension in the deep muscles of your neck and shoulders.

Tech Neck is not just a pain-in-the-neck (excuse the bad pun), it can cause serious harm to the body. These effects can range from stiffness to pain in both the neck and back region, But we believe the major and most detrimental side-effect to this syndrome is Kyphosis (hunched neck).

Over time our body's naturally adapt to the positions we put them in, and as a result of Tech Neck our spine starts to adjust to the forward hunched down neck position that we so often use when looking at our phone. As a result of this, the spine moulds into an unnatural alignment, proving destructive to your posture. This doesn’t not only look bad but also stops you from being your best self, as bad posture has many terrible side-effects in itself (e.g. low productivity, self-esteem).

However, it is not too late, we have solutions.

Solutions

• Posture exercises 

• Always staying conscious of your body’s positioning: By doing this and adjusting to a more natural position your body will start to automatically build a habit of good posture

•  Laptop stands: Elevates your device thus putting zero strain on your neck when working. check out our range here

•  Limit screen time: By limiting the cause, the effect will not be as severe. 

To Wrap It Up

It's a tech world, and it's almost impossible nor plausible to avoid our screens, they offer so much value to our lives and should not be looked at in a negative way. However, Tech Neck is highly prevalent in society and can be destructive to your lifestyle if ignored. By making sure you take the necessary action to both solve and prevent this syndrome you can live a healthier lifestyle physically in both how you look and feel.