help for tech neck
 

Hi,

As a long-time worker in Information Technology (IT), my posture is a mess. I think I have 'tech neck'

If any of you have the same condition, a few questions:
- do you use any posture correcting products?
- exercises?
- how have you adjusted your workplace to prevent this - do you standing desks, special chairs, etc.?

Thanks for any info you can give.

My standing desk helps when I use it. I get lazy but I try to alternate so at least standing is a few hours/day.

These may help:

10 Minute Daily Stretch | Stiff Neck Routine For Women Over 50!

Jane Adams DVD - Balance & Strength - she has some routines in that DVD that may help

Build a Neck that Scares People

If you have CS, I marked these a while back to help with neck issues:

Classical Stretch – Season 6 – 609
Classical Stretch – Season 7 – 707
Classical Stretch – Season 7 – 708
Classical Stretch – Season 7 – 720
Classical Stretch – Season 9 – 930
Classical Stretch – Season 10 – 1003
Classical Stretch – Season 10 – 1005
Classical Stretch – Season 10 – 1029
Classical Stretch – Season 11 – 1101
Classical Stretch – Season 11 – 1103
Classical Stretch – Season 11 – 1114
Classical Stretch – Season 11 – 1115
Classical Stretch – Season 12 – 1216
Essentrics – Strength & Stretch – Strength: Full Body Workout
Essentrics – Strength & Stretch – Upper Body & Hamstrings
Essentrics Stretch Series Volume 1 – Full Body Deep Stretch
Essentrics Stretch Series Volume 1 – Joint Pain Relief
Essentrics Stretch Series Volume 1 – Tension Release
Essentrics – The Ultimate Stretch Workouts – Improve
Essentrics – The Ultimate Stretch Workouts – Muscle Release

Gentle Yoga: Jane Adams DVD - she has some very good routines there - Relief from Desk and Computer Work

Heal Neck and Shoulder Pain DVD

How to have a Pain Free Neck

Jessica Smith: Gentle Yoga DVD - great routines there also

Jill Miller/Tune Up Fitness - has some very good ones on her site. You have to purchase them.
Exercises To Reduce Neck Stiffness | Yoga Tune Up
Self Massage for Your Neck With Therapy Balls | Yoga Tune Up
Shoulder Pain Exercise: Quick Fix: Shoulder Circles | Yoga Tune Up

Lee Holden/Qi Gong – 30 Day Challenge - lots of neck work there also.

Pain Free Workout Series DVD - two excellent routines there as well

Posture: Get it Straight DVD - another good one

Qi Gong for Healthy Joints DVD
Qi Gong for Upper Back and Neck DVD

Upper Body Tension Release Yoga for Beginners

Yoga for Beginners: Jane Adams DVD

5 min Yoga for Neck Pain & Tension

Yoga for Stress Relief DVD

Definitely stretching the neck and doing some chest opening stretches a few times a day helps. For the long term, setting up a better work station to have things better aligned and incorporating strengthening exercises to promote better posture is very beneficial. Doing core work that doesn't tighten your neck (like crunches can do) such as basic elbow planks, bird dogs and dead bug exercises, and strengthening your upper mid back is also key. I have found one of the best exercises for this is standing T pulls with a resistance band.

https://www.coachmag.co.uk/back-exer...erfect-posture

I love Dr Jo's info too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK_A3Tuq6UU

As far as exercise goes, I've found yoga helpful. Working on posture helps in general, but I don't do specific posture work often enough. :o

When I have neck or shoulder pain, I like to do this routine:
PsycheTruth: Neck and Shoulder Pain Relief Yoga with Jen Hilman

Jen Hilman also has many yoga videos for neck and back pain on her channel: Jen Hilman YouTube channel

Here are a few other videos for the neck/shoulders/upper back from my favorite yoga instructors:
Yoga with Adriene: Yoga for Text Neck
Yoga with Kassandra: 5 min Yoga for Neck Pain & Tension
Yoga with Kassandra: 5 min Yoga for Upper Back Pain & Flexibility
The Bare Female: Yin Yoga for Chest & Shoulders

And a few search links if you want to explore more options:
Yoga for tech neck
Yoga for neck and shoulder pain
Workout for better posture

:)

I studied Alexander Technique for many years. It is a method to improve posture and free the body from tension and bad habits. The neck is the major focus.

One simple and effective thing to do is to lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and hands on your lower belly or at your sides, for 20 minutes. You can use a book under your head, if you need it. You can put some pillows under your knees or let them fall inwards touching. Then do some slow breathing.

Same with me. Standing vs. sitting really helps with my posture, as does being aware of my alignment throughout the day.

My favorite is Lee Holden's Qigong for Upper Back and Neck Pain. It has three parts, you can do it all or break it down. His 30 Day Qigong Challenge has 30 7 minute practices and he opens the neck in just about every one.

all good replies.

main thing: self-trigger on yourself - observe yourself when your neck and head are "away" from being right over your spine - that's when it's tilted forward.

if you move it right where it's supposed to be, notice how your neck pain goes away. your head weighs 10-15 pounds. when it's off-centered, it places

50-60 pounds of pressure on your neck!!!!!!

that's 4x the weight.

I need progressive lenses for my glasses. However, standard progressive lenses can cause you to put your neck in a weird position to best see your screen. I found wearing multifocal contacts to be great for this. I can see all distance OK...emphasis on OK. My vision isn't as crystal clear as I can get with glasses. However, I can see all distances pretty good.

A lot people can't adapt to them. However, there is another solution. I got computer glasses at Costco. They take your regular progressive prescription and adapt it so the majority of the lens is for your standard computer distance and a little at the bottom is for reading. They make long distance blurry, but I spend the majority of my day glued to my computer for work. I can see well enough to like go the bathroom. In my case, I can just take them off and my distance vision is fine, but I know that isn't the case for everyone.