Surveys say there are more than 290 million smartphone users in the United States, which translates to 85 percent of Americans now talking, texting, scrolling, pinching and tapping a smartphone.
Distilling the data down to individual usage, the average American spends about four hours and 23 minutes every day staring at a six- or seven-inch mobile screen—and experts predict that this total will reach around four hours and 35 minutes by 2023.
It’s important to point out that this prediction is being adjusted daily, with a new survey from the financial planning firm TIAA reporting that the pandemic has Americans now spending four times longer than ever before scrolling through social media.
It’s no wonder that hunching forward over small screens while holding the shoulder girdle in a less than ideal position has produced a chronic lifestyle condition called tech neck, sometimes referred to as text neck.
“I would guess that almost everybody has some degree of tech neck these days,” says Brian P. McCullough, LMT, owner of Relaxation Restoration in Wheaton, Ill. “We’re working from home and most of us are on small devices and sitting on a kitchen chair, a couch or even a bed. That puts a lot of stress on the back, spine, shoulders, arms and legs. And since I don’t see a permanent return to the traditional office with ergonomically correct workstations, I think tech neck is going to get worse.”
The consensus says that tech neck responds well to muscle release techniques, also known as Myofascial Release (MFR). The strategy puts light sustained pressure on targeted fascia connective tissue to reduce pain and re-establish motion. “This is my main technique for anything—but especially for tech neck,” says McCullough. “It combines the aspects of active isolated stretching with the light massage, or pressure, over the affected muscle groups.”
Specific to anterior muscles, Riley sends out a cautionary reminder: “People hear ‘neck’ and work from the back. But to be effective, you have to work the front also. Everything’s connected. And in front, I use trigger point therapy.” In this way, she can soften anterior muscles with appropriate pressure on knots in the muscle fiber that contribute to the neck pain.
