Tackle tech neck
TRAINER SAM WOOD’S TIPS FOR RELIEVING THE STRAIN IN
As you read this you could be hunched over a mobile phone, laptop or ipad – and you could be contributing to a case of tech neck. Firstly, what is tech neck? It is a condition where we stress the muscles in our neck, shoulders, base of our skull, and even down the upper and middle back by all of the work we are doing on our devices.
The average Australian spends around five hours plus on a technical device every single day, which, to no surprise, results in us using forward head posture, which puts a lot of stress on our muscles. It can cause headaches, neck pain, pain in the shoulders, pain in the upper back, tingling or numbness in your hands, and even a loss of the natural curve of the spine in extreme cases.
If your head is forward and chin is down at a 45-degree angle looking down at your phone or screen, that is placing about 22kg of strain on your neck.
Technology is here to stay, so we need to find ways to counteract this problem. problem
Making adjustments to reduce the e stress on our body will not only relieve the physical limitations but also the mental limitations such as headaches, stress, and tension. Here are some tips to help relieve tech neck:
1Adjust your workstation
Make sure you are at 45 degrees at the hips and knees.
Check that your screen height is right. The top of your screen should be level with your eyes, so when you’re looking at what you’re working on your chin is level.
2Your seat should never be upright
This is often overlooked. Leaning your seat to a 20-30 degree angle is the optimum position for your lumbar spine.
3 Use standing desks
For those working long hours of screen time, this is a great way to add some variety to a work day. Have your knees slightly bent, pelvis tucked under, and glute and tummy
muscles activated, with your shoulders back.
4 Introduce more movement.
We need to get the blood flowing and add mobility throughout our day. Have a break from your workstation at least once every hour even if it’s just for a couple of minutes.
Walk to grab a coffee or go do a quick trip around the block.
With the perks of technology we are lucky to have more access to online workouts. Taking time for a 10-minute workout will not only help you to incorporate more movement but also help you feel refreshed and energetic heading back to your desk.
5Reduce as much screen time as possible
Try to have your meetings in person, if possible. Try to do a walking meeting or have breaks in between to ensure you have time away from your desk.
6Be proactive and strengthen
We can get tight chest muscles from poor posture or other pushing movements, which means our chest muscles shorten.
• Strengthen with chin tucks and some kind of row movement.
• If you’re strong between your shoulder blades, you can hold your shoulders back.
• If you’re strong in your neck muscles, you can hold your chin back. Both reduce your head moving forward.
• And lastly, stretch your pec muscles out, which will allow those short, tight chest muscles to go back with more ease.