I Tried It! Exercises to Relieve Tech Neck

illustrations by Kate Traynor

I stare at my phone for five hours a day. At least, that’s what an impertinent weekly notification tells me. As a result, I’ve developed ‘tech neck’—head forward, shoulders rounded and back slumped—and it causes pain in my back, shoulders and neck.

I saw a physical therapist who recommended some stretches to help alleviate the tension.

For a week, I took a five-minute break, three times each day, to roll my head up and down into a chin tuck, slip onto a mat and into cobra pose (lie on your stomach with your palms on the mat, next to your shoulders, then raise your upper body and look forward) and do a few spinal rotations (sitting cross-legged on the floor, reach for your left knee with your right hand, gently twisting your torso to the left; repeat on the other side). I also made sure my smartphone and computer screen were ­always positioned at eye level.

I felt immediate relief, but I was told I would need to adjust my screen time habits before I saw any improvement in my posture.