Text Neck: How Heavy Is Your Head?

Dr Scott Bevz

From reading eBooks on your tablet to catching up on text messages after work, it is often easy to get carried away and forget about your posture. As mobile devices become increasingly prevalent in our day-to-day lives, so too does Text Neck. Text Neck is a term used to describe the neck pain and soreness commonly experienced after spending long periods of time in a hunched over position looking down at a mobile device. Causing everyday pain and discomfort, we'll tell you some simple measures to prevent this strain on your spine.

How heavy is your head?
For every centimetre of forward head carriage, the muscles of our neck and back have to work harder. Kapandji quantified this in his book, (Physiology of the Joints, Vol 3) stating that every inch (~2.5cm) of forward head posture can increase the weight of the head on the spine by 10lbs (~5kg). If we apply this to the photos on the right, my head would weigh approximately 5kg, 10kg and 15kg (from left to right) so do yourself a favour and bring your phone or tablet up to eye level or better yet, put it back in your bag!

What can I do?
A simple exercise to strengthen the DNF (deep neck flexors) and relieve symptoms associated with Text Neck is the beginner chin tuck as described by Leibenson. The images on the left are modified from his article titled Self-help Advice for the Patient.

Step 1. Perch at the edge of your chair
Step 2. Place your finger on your chin
Step 3. Raise your chest towards the ceiling
Step 4. Draw your chin away from your finger without looking down
​             (make a double chin)
Step 5. Pause and hold for 2 seconds

You should feel a gentle pull in the back of your neck as the subocciputal muscles stretch

Step 6. Relax and repeat 5 times every 30 minutes of sitting

Check out this link for some further reading on postural retraining and its effectiveness on treating spinal dysfunction.