These four neck and shoulder strengthening exercises are the answer to alleviating tech neck

Modern-day office work means prolonged screen time and a near-constant head-forward position, which often equals a literal pain in the neck.

Even with a good ergonomic setup, tech neck can persist, especially since we’re still staring down at smartphones.

You might be familiar with the sensation: stiffness in the neck, a dull ache between the shoulders and even headaches.

We’re told to stretch, take regular breaks and adjust our workstations, but such activities only bring short-term relief.

Digitalism isn’t going anywhere, so we must adjust our bodies. How do we do that? “It’s simply about muscle strengthening,” says physiotherapist, health coach and massage therapist Pat Jaskiewicz.

Repetitive movement, she explains, isn’t the problem. “It depends on the state of your body. If your body is in good condition, looking down at a screen for a few hours daily won’t cause symptoms.

“Pain only arises because our base is not where it’s supposed to be—the quality of the tissues and their resilience is not at a high enough level to support this action.”

Neck and shoulder strengthening exercises

Jaskiewicz recommends four simple exercises that target all the major muscles from the neck and shoulders to the upper and lower back: the trapezius, rhomboids, infraspinatus, deep neck flexors and levator scapulae.

“Before beginning, always remember: neutral neck, shoulders down, chest open,” she says. “To achieve a neutral neck, tuck your chin so that your head feels like it’s balanced directly over your spine—not leaning forward.”

1. Prone Y-T-W

The exercise is named so because of the positions of the arms that resemble the letters Y, T and W.

Sets: 3 Time: hold each position for 5-10sec

• Lie on your front.
• Lift your head, ensuring your neck is neutral and you are looking down at the floor, not in front of you. Use a towel under your forehead if it is more comfortable.
• Extend and lift your arms into a V shape and lock the elbows.
• Turn your thumbs up and engage between your shoulder blades to lift the arms. This is your Y position.
• Hold for a few seconds and lower arms.
• Move and lift the arms to a T shape and hold for time.
• Bend your arms to form a W shape and hold for time.

2. Assisted wall angel

This works the same muscles as the Y-T-W exercise but in a standing position—therefore with a different gravitational pull.

Sets: 3 Reps: 10

• Stand facing away from a wall, with your heels close to the wall but not touching.
• Engage your core, tuck your chin and keep your shoulders down, and raise your arms above your head.
• Lower your arms as slowly as you can, bending at the elbow, until your elbows reach shoulder height. Don’t let your arms come away from the wall as you bring them down.
• Slowly move the arms up to the start position.
• Complete 10 reps in total.
• Then lower your arms again, but this time don’t bend your elbows, lowering until your hands meet your legs.
• Slowly lift your arms overhead.
• Perform 10 reps in total, keeping your movements slow and controlled.

3. Raised neck exercises

These three movements target the same muscle group (neck flexors) but the combination of flexion, abduction and rotation ensures they are strengthened in different ways.

Sets: 3 Reps: 10 each exercise

• Lie on your back.
• Raise your head about an inch off the floor.
• Slowly move your chin to your chest in a nodding motion, then slowly return to a neutral position. Perform 10 reps.
• Slowly move your right ear to the right shoulder, then the left ear to the left shoulder. Perform 10 reps.
• Finally, rotate your head to move your chin to the right shoulder, then to the left. Perform 10 reps.

4. Shoulder shrugs with load

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This is a correcting exercise for the common upper body muscle issue of upper crossed syndrome (UCS).

Sets: 3 Reps: 12

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with a small weight in each hand.
• Push your shoulder blades back and down.
• Shrug your shoulders up to your ears, keeping the arms straight.
• Then slowly lower down and repeat.
• For an alternative option, extend your arms above your head (with or without weights) and, again, shrug your shoulders up to ears and slowly lower down and repeat.