You’re reading this on a screen right now. And there’s a good chance your head is tilted forward, your shoulders are rounded, and your neck is under more stress than it should be.
That’s tech neck. It’s the postural strain that comes from spending hours looking down at phones, tablets, and laptops. And it’s becoming one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints physiotherapists see.
The term might sound trendy, but the problem is real. Tech neck can cause chronic pain, headaches, and long-term changes to your spine if you don’t address it. Let’s talk about what’s actually happening and how to fix it.
What Is Tech Neck?
Tech neck—also called text neck or smartphone neck—is the forward head posture and neck strain caused by looking down at devices for extended periods.
Here’s the biomechanics: your head weighs about 10-12 pounds when it’s balanced directly over your spine. But for every inch your head moves forward, the effective weight on your neck increases by roughly 10 pounds.1
Tilt your head down 15 degrees to check a text, and your neck is supporting about 27 pounds. At 45 degrees—the angle most people use when scrolling their phones—your neck muscles are working to support around 49 pounds.1 That’s like carrying a small child on your neck for hours every day.
Over time, this constant forward load causes:
- Muscle strain and fatigue in the neck and upper back
- Compression of cervical discs
- Changes to the natural curve of your spine
- Tight chest muscles and weak upper back muscles
It’s not just about pain in the moment. Tech neck can lead to permanent postural changes if you don’t address it.
Symptoms of Tech Neck
Tech neck doesn’t always announce itself as “neck pain from phone use.” It shows up in various ways:
Neck pain and stiffness. The most obvious symptom. Your neck feels tight, sore, or achy, especially at the base of your skull and where your neck meets your shoulders.
Headaches. Tension headaches that start at the back of your head or behind your eyes. These often come from tight suboccipital muscles (the small muscles at the base of your skull).
Upper back pain. Pain between your shoulder blades. Your upper back muscles are constantly fighting to hold your head up when it’s forward.
Shoulder pain and tightness. Your shoulders round forward with tech neck, which strains the muscles and can lead to impingement issues over time.
Reduced neck mobility. You might notice you can’t turn your head as far as you used to, or it hurts to look up.
Numbness or tingling. In more severe cases, the compression can affect nerves, causing tingling in your arms or hands.
Jaw pain. The forward head position changes your jaw alignment, which can contribute to TMJ issues.
If you spend multiple hours a day on your phone or computer and have any of these symptoms, tech neck is a likely contributor.
Who Gets Tech Neck?
Almost everyone who uses smartphones and computers is at risk, but some groups are more affected:
Office workers. Eight or more hours at a computer, often with poor ergonomics. The desk posture article covers this in detail.
Students. Constant studying, laptop use, and phone scrolling. Young spines are still developing, making the impact potentially worse.
Gamers. Long sessions looking at screens, often with poor posture. See our article on how gaming affects posture.
Remote workers. Working from couches, beds, and kitchen tables with no ergonomic setup.
Children and teenagers. Growing up with devices means growing up with tech neck. This is becoming a serious concern—we’ve written about text neck in children.
The average person spends over 4 hours a day on their phone. Add computer use, and many people are looking at screens for 10+ hours daily. That’s a lot of time training your body into a forward head position.
Exercises to Fix Tech Neck
The fix for tech neck involves two things: releasing the tight muscles and strengthening the weak ones. Here are the most effective exercises.
Chin Tucks
This is the cornerstone exercise for tech neck. It strengthens your deep neck flexors—the muscles that hold your head in proper alignment—while stretching the tight muscles at the back of your neck.
How to do it:
- Sit or stand tall, looking straight ahead
- Without tilting your head up or down, pull your chin straight back
- Think of making a double chin
- Hold for 5-10 seconds
- Release and repeat
Do: 10-15 reps, 3-4 times throughout the day. Do them at your desk, in your car, whenever you remember.
Neck Stretches
Levator scapulae stretch:
- Sit tall and turn your head 45 degrees to the right
- Drop your chin toward your chest, looking at your right armpit
- Use your right hand to gently add pressure
- Hold 30 seconds, repeat on the other side
Upper trap stretch:
- Sit tall, grab the bottom of your chair with your right hand
- Tilt your head to the left, bringing your left ear toward your left shoulder
- Hold 30 seconds, repeat on the other side
Suboccipital release:
- Place two fingers at the base of your skull, on either side of your spine
- Apply gentle pressure and tilt your head back slightly
- Hold and breathe for 30-60 seconds
Thoracic Extensions
Your upper back gets stuck in flexion (rounded forward) with tech neck. This exercise restores extension.
How to do it:
- Sit in a chair and place your hands behind your head
- Arch backward over the back of the chair, looking up at the ceiling
- Don’t let your lower back arch—the movement comes from your mid-back
- Hold 2-3 seconds and return
- Repeat 10-15 times
You can also do this over a foam roller placed horizontally under your upper back.
Wall Angels
This exercise opens your chest and strengthens your mid-back muscles—both crucial for correcting the forward shoulder position that comes with tech neck.
How to do it:
- Stand with your back flat against a wall, feet a few inches out
- Press your lower back, upper back, and head into the wall
- Raise your arms to a “goalpost” position against the wall
- Slowly slide your arms up and down, keeping contact with the wall
- Do 10-15 reps
Most people find this surprisingly difficult. If you can’t keep your arms against the wall, just go as far as you can while maintaining contact.
Prone Y Raises
This strengthens the lower trapezius, which is typically weak in people with tech neck.
How to do it:
- Lie face down on the floor (or on an exercise ball)
- Extend your arms overhead in a Y position, thumbs pointing up
- Lift your arms off the floor by squeezing your shoulder blades together
- Hold 2-3 seconds, lower, and repeat
- Do 10-15 reps
These exercises take about 10 minutes and should be done daily. For a complete routine, check out our 10-minute posture workout. If you want a dedicated stretching routine specifically for tech neck, try this Tech Neck Reset routine with targeted neck and chest stretches.
Daily Habits to Prevent Tech Neck
Exercises help, but you can’t exercise your way out of 8 hours of bad posture. You need to change how you interact with your devices.
Raise your phone
This is the simplest fix. Instead of tilting your head down to look at your phone, bring your phone up to eye level. Yes, it might look a bit strange at first. Your neck will thank you.
When you’re using your phone for extended periods, prop your elbows on a table or hold it higher. Every degree you reduce that forward tilt is less strain on your neck.
Fix your computer setup
Your screen should be at eye level. You shouldn’t have to look down or up at it. For laptops, this means using a separate keyboard and mouse and propping the laptop on a stand or books.
Your chair should support your lower back, and your elbows should be at about 90 degrees when typing. More details in our desk posture guide.
Take breaks
Set a timer to remind yourself to move every 30 minutes. Stand up, roll your shoulders back, do a few chin tucks. Even 30-60 seconds of movement helps reset your posture.
The 20-20-20 rule is helpful for eye strain and posture: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Use this as a reminder to check your posture too.
Strengthen your awareness
Start noticing when you’re in a forward head position. The more aware you become, the more often you’ll catch yourself and correct it. Some people set random phone alarms throughout the day as posture check reminders.
Consider your sleeping position
If you sleep with too many pillows, you’re keeping your neck in a forward position for 6-8 hours. Use a pillow that keeps your neck neutral—not pushed forward or hyperextended. Learn more about sleeping positions and posture.
How Long Does It Take to Fix Tech Neck?
If you’re consistent with the exercises and habit changes, you’ll likely notice improvement in a few weeks:
Week 1-2: Increased awareness. You’ll catch yourself in forward head posture more often.
Week 3-4: Reduced pain and tension. The exercises are releasing tight muscles and building strength.
Week 6-8: Visible postural improvement. Your head naturally sits further back over your shoulders.
Week 8-12: New normal. Good posture feels natural. You have to think about it less.
But this only works if you stay consistent and actually change your device habits. Doing exercises for 10 minutes then spending 8 hours looking down at your phone won’t get you very far.
For more on timelines, see how long does it take to fix bad posture.
When to See a Professional
Most tech neck responds well to the exercises and habit changes above. But see a healthcare professional if you have:
- Severe or worsening pain that doesn’t improve with exercise
- Numbness or tingling in your arms or hands
- Weakness in your arms
- Headaches that are getting worse
- Pain that shoots down your arm
These could indicate nerve involvement or other issues that need proper assessment.
The Bottom Line
Tech neck is a modern problem, but it’s not inevitable. Yes, we all use phones and computers. But how we use them—and how we counteract that usage with exercise and awareness—determines whether we develop chronic pain and postural problems.
Start with the chin tucks. Raise your phone. Take breaks. These simple changes, done consistently, can reverse tech neck and prevent it from coming back.
Your neck evolved to hold your head upright, not to support it at a 45-degree angle for hours every day. Give it some help.
Related articles:
- How to Fix Bad Posture: Complete Guide
- Forward Head Posture Exercises
- Desk Posture for Office Workers
- Neck Pain from Computer Work
The Posture Workout app includes specific routines for tech neck, with video demonstrations and daily reminders. Download it free →