“Tech Neck”: How Massage Helps

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Let’s be honest, how is your neck feeling as you are reading this blog entry at this very moment? If your answer is that there is some tightness or even pain in your neck, you probably don’t need us to tell you that you’re not alone in experiencing this discomfort. Among general populations, neck pain is among the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints.

Although things are thankfully shifting back to operating normally as of now now, we can’t deny the fact that the past year and a half or so has been filled with hours upon hours of remote work for many of us due to the pandemic. According to the Nielsen Polling Company, staying home during cases such as shelter-in-place orders can lead to as much as a 60% increase in screen time. This means that the average person spends more than 13 hours on their screens during each day.

Am I suffering from a “Tech Neck”?

Long hours staring at our screens can lead to a “Tech Neck,” which is known as the act of stressing muscles while using phones, tablets, and computers. The “Tech Neck” can bring along a number of discomforts and pains such as:

• Headaches

• Neck spasms

• Creaky shoulder joints

• Tingling and numbness in the arms and hands 

• Increased pain when tilting the head forward or when looking down

How exactly does my screen cause the “Tech Neck”?

When you look down to work on your computer, your tablet or on your phone, the muscles in the back of your neck work the hardest to keep your head held up. The average head weighs around 10 lbs but when the head shifts forward by just an inch, that weight doubles to 20 lbs. What if that shift increases to 2 inches? That’s right, your neck will be handling up to 30 lbs of weight. The more often you look down and the lower you look down, the harder these muscles will need to contract to keep your head up and they can become fatigued and sore in no time.

Seeking relief? A good massage can help

Massage can help elicit 2 important physical responses in the body:

1. Increased blood and lymph circulation
   

2. Relaxation and normalization of soft tissue

Firstly, during a massage session, there is a physical manipulation of the soft tissue which can trigger an improvement in blood and lymph circulation. Better circulation leads to better delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscle cells. As your cells become healthier, tissue function efficiency improves, leading to reduced swelling of the soft tissues in the region.

Massage therapy also reduces tension from the tissues. When the muscles are contracted, they can compress or “pinch” the nerves around them, thereby causing pain and discomfort. By applying massage to the affected regions, the muscles, tendons, and ligaments can properly relax. When the muscles are relaxed, the nerves can be free of the pain and resume their normal functions of relaying messages to and from the brain. 

Give your neck a well-deserved break 

Photo by Radu Florin

Feeling tired from the pains and tensions you have been enduring? Think you can use a break? We would love to help with that! Book an appointment with our massage therapist to finally experience relief from your tense muscles.

Schedule An Appointment

Sources:

• https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-working-at-my-computer-causing-my-headaches-1719432

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19143770/ 

• https://www.everydayhealth.com/migraine/is-working-from-home-giving-you-a-headache/ 

• https://www.scoliosisreductioncenter.com/blog/cervical-curvature#:~:text='Cervical%20curvature%20of%20the%20spine,introduce%20'forward%20head%20posture'. 

• https://www.johnmichelsmd.com/blog/what-is-tech-neck 

• https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/massage-therapy/how-does-massage-work