Two stretches a physical therapist wishes desk workers would do to ease chronic tech neck
Stretch your aching muscles in just two steps
When you’ve had a long day, it can be tempting to unwind with some scrolling on social media. I get it, I do it too.
The problem is that before you know it, you’ve been looking down for hours.
When you look up again, you may find that your neck feels stiff and sore. This phenomenon is colloquially known as tech neck.
Thankfully, there are a few exercises you can do to make your stiff neck feel better.
Ashley Katzenback, a doctor of physical therapy and the owner of Cape Concierge Physical Therapy, suggests the following two stretches, which can be done anywhere for a quick release.
If you catch yourself squinting at your phone for too long, run through a few rounds of each exercise and watch your stiff tech neck melt away.
How to do the neck stretches
Watch Katzenback talk you through the exercises above, or scroll down for quick clips and written form guides.
1. Chin tuck with extension
Sets: 3 Reps: 5
How to do it:
- Sit in a chair, or stand with your arms by your sides and your feet flat on the floor.
- Tuck your chin back, so your ears are in line with your shoulders. You should feel a stretch in the back of your neck at the base of your skull.
- Slowly, look up at the ceiling and tilt your head back using only the muscles in your neck. You will feel the muscles in the front of your neck activating.
Form tip: This is a small motion focused on moving your skull on top of your spine.
2. Anterior neck stretch
Sets: 3 Time: 20sec each side
How to do it:
- Stand with your hands by your sides and your feet hip-width apart.
- Tuck your chin back, so your ears are in line with your shoulders, then tilt your head to the side.
- Look up slowly toward the ceiling until you feel a stretch in the front of your neck.
- Put your hands behind your back to intensify the stretch.
- Repeat on the other side.
Form tip: Only allow motion in your neck; do not let your trunk arch back as you look up.
Finally, it might sound like tech neck is just about the neck muscles, but it is important to stretch and strengthen your shoulders, chest, upper and mid back too, to ensure your neck and head are properly supported.
Ashley Katzenback is a doctor of physical therapy and owner of Cape Concierge Physical Therapy, with offices in Sandwich and the Pinehills.
Katzenback has over 20 years of experience and is an expert in the musculoskeletal field. She is a certified myofascial trigger point therapist with extensive training in osteoporosis, chronic pain management, ergonomics and injury prevention.
