Walk into Hey Happy on Johnson Street or Habit Coffee on Yates, and you will see it. Rows of people hunched over laptops. Commuters on the BC Ferries staring down at smartphones. Teenagers at the bus stop with their chins tucked to their chests.
We have a name for this now: “Tech Neck Pain”
If you Google it, you’ll find terrifying infographics showing a head weighing as much as a bowling ball, exerting “60 pounds of force” on the spine. You might read articles claiming you are growing “horns” on the back of your skull or permanently fusing your vertebrae.
Naturally, when your neck starts to feel stiff or sore after a long day of emails, you panic. You think, “I’m destroying my posture. I’m damaging my discs.”
Here is the good news: Your neck is not that fragile.
At Pursuit Physiotherapy, we want to dismantle the fear surrounding your posture. This guide will use the latest evidence—including a groundbreaking 2025 longitudinal study—to explain why looking down isn’t the villain.
The “Bowling Ball” Myth
The most common fear tactic used to sell posture correctors is the idea that looking down places “massive, dangerous force” on the spine.
The Physics vs. The Biology
Yes, physics dictates that as a lever arm gets longer (your head moving forward), the torque increases. But your body is not a static bridge. It is a living, adapting organism.
A 2018 study by Damasceno, Ney Meziat, et al. looked at hundreds of young adults. They measured the angle of their heads while texting and asked about their pain levels. The Result: There was zero association between “text neck” posture and neck pain. The people with the “worst” posture didn’t hurt any more than the people with the “perfect” posture.
The “Bent Finger” Analogy
So, why does it hurt after 3 hours of scrolling? Imagine pulling your index finger back as far as it can go and holding it there. After 1 minute, it feels uncomfortable. After 10 minutes, it screams in pain. Did you damage the finger? No. You just starved the tissue of blood flow and irritated the sensors (ischemia). As soon as you let go and move the finger, the pain subsides.
The takeaway: Your neck pain is likely a “Sensitivity Problem,” not a “Damage Problem.” You haven’t ruined your spine; you just kept your finger bent for too long without a break.
Relevance Check: Do you feel the “burn”? If your neck burns after 2 hours at the computer but feels better after a gym session or a walk, you don’t need a surgeon. You need capacity. Book a Neck Assessment to find your starting point.
The Real Villains (Sleep & Stress)
If the angle of your head doesn’t cause pain, what does?
A new 2025 Longitudinal Study by Correia et al. (discussed recently on the E3 Rehab Podcast) followed 457 people for an entire year. They measured their posture, phone habits, and pain levels.
The Findings were shocking:
- Posture didn’t matter: The angle of the neck while texting did not predict who developed neck pain a year later.
- What DID matter: Two factors strongly predicted future pain:
Low Sleep Quality: Poor sleep sensitizes your nervous system, making you feel pain more intensely.
Physical Inactivity: People who didn’t exercise were much more likely to develop pain than those who sat with “bad posture” but remained active.
This changes everything. The solution isn’t to buy a $1,000 ergonomic chair; it’s to prioritize your sleep and get moving.
The Pursuit Protocol (Build Capacity)
We follow the mantra: “The Best Posture is the Next Posture.” You don’t need to sit straight; you need to fidget.
Step 1: The “Motion Sandwich”
Every time you send an email or finish a task, move your spine. Slouch. Arch. Twist. Just don’t stay frozen.
Step 2: Waking Up the Stabilizers (Deep Neck Flexors)
These are the “core muscles” of your throat. They sit deep behind your windpipe and support the curve of your neck.
- The Drill: Lie on your back. Perform a gentle “nod” (like saying yes) without lifting your head off the pillow. Hold for 10 seconds.
- The Goal: You should feel this deep in the front of the neck, not the superficial muscles (SCM) on the side.
Step 3: Thoracic Mobility (Open the Hood)
Your neck sits on top of your ribcage (Thoracic Spine). If your upper back is stiff, your neck has to work double-time to look up.
- The Drill: “Open Books.” Lie on your side and rotate your top arm open to the wall behind you, following it with your eyes.
Does your headache start at the base of your skull? This is often “Cervicogenic Headache”—pain referred from the upper neck joints. Book a Manual Therapy Session to see if we can turn off the headache switch.
Strengthening (The “Cobra”)
Once things are moving, we must load them. Remember: Robustness > Alignment. We want your neck to be strong enough to handle 4 hours of Instagram, even if we don’t recommend it.
The Prone Cobra
- The Move: Lie on your stomach. Lift your chest and head off the floor, squeezing your shoulder blades together (like a cobra). Keep your chin tucked (don’t look at the ceiling).
- The Dosage: Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
The Science: This builds endurance in the entire Posterior Chain, counteracting the gravity of the “tech slump.”
Summary: Your Daily Defense Plan for Tech Neck Pain
You don’t need to throw away your phone or quit your desk job. You just need to adapt.
- Ignore the “Horns”: Looking down isn’t damaging your spine. The fear of the movement is often worse than the movement itself.
- Check Your Sleep: Before you blame your posture, ask yourself: “Did I sleep well last night?”
- Build the Buffer: Use the Deep Neck Flexor hold and Prone Cobra to build the endurance to handle your day.
Your spine is not a stack of teacups. It is a robust, adaptable column that craves movement. Treat it that way.
REFERENCES
- The 2025 Longitudinal Study: Correia IMT, et al. Cervical flexion posture during smartphone use was not a risk factor for neck pain, but low sleep quality and insufficient levels of physical activity were. A longitudinal investigation. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy. 2025.
- Text Neck Myth: Damasceno GM, Meziat-Filho N, et al. Text neck and neck pain in 18–21-year-old young adults. European Spine Journal. 2018.
- Posture & Pain: Richards KV, et al. Is neck posture subgroup in late adolescence a risk factor for persistent neck pain in young adulthood? Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2021.
- Ergonomics Review: Hoe VC, et al. Ergonomic interventions for preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019.
- Deep Neck Flexors: Falla D, et al. Recruitment of the deep cervical flexor muscles during a postural-correction exercise performed in sitting. Manual Therapy. 2007.