In the beauty industry, tech neck (or text neck) is the
surface-level damage caused by continually looking at our
devices. Bending the neck at 45 degrees for long periods
can leave us susceptible to early wrinkles. But as device
use increases, a host of longer-term, more serious side effects
are becoming apparent. Experienced upper-back and shoulder
tension, headaches or fatigue lately? Welcome to military neck.
“No two soldiers are the same; our bodies compensate
differently,” says Amberin Fur, who practises alongside fellow
osteopath Laura Sierra at the London consultancy Amberin
Fur & Associates (Osteopathuk.com), and who sees a growing
number of patients with neck strain. “By looking down
continually, we’re going against the way our spine is designed
to weight-bear. Our spine shouldn’t be straight, which is what
‘military neck’ refers to – a soldier standing to attention. It
should be adaptable, resting within its natural curvature.”
The blame for long-term damage associated with tight,
hunched shoulders lies firmly with our screen habits. “Along
with the rise of the smartphone came the fall of the cervicalspine,” explains Roger Frampton (Roger.coach), movement
coach and author of The Flexible Body. “Military neck is where
we start to lose the natural curvature of our neck.”
Sierra warns of the knock-on effects of bad posture: “Curves
in the spine absorb impact when we walk or carry weight,”
she says. “When the curves are lost, this has a direct impact
not only on our musculoskeletal structure but also on the
vascular, lymphatic and digestive systems. Simple adjustments
can allow you to use both your devices and your body in a
sustainable way. We need to pay attention to the way we hold
our devices, the time spent on them, and the size of the screen.
Daily stretching will open up the areas that we compress.”
Frampton – who often uploads stretching exercises on
Instagram (@rogerframpton) – recommends adopting one
good habit a day. If your job is desk-based, for example, he
suggests doing the broomstick stretch when you get home.
“Hold a broom handle against your spine with one hand
positioned at your lower back and the other at the top of your
head,” says Frampton. Time to pay attention. nSTRAIGHTTA LKForever gazing down at
one device or another?
Then beware of
“military neck”,
says Lauren
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