A Cure for Digital Addicts’ ‘Text Neck’?

Habitual craning forward over screens can produce the pain of ‘text neck.’

The Ache: In the digital age, many people spend hours daily bent over computers, phones and tablets—our necks craned forward. Some scientists say this unnatural position can lead to pain, headaches and other symptoms, sometimes collectively called “text neck.

The Claim: Technology itself comes to the rescue. An Android app called the Text Neck Indicator measures the angle of your phone and lets you know when you’re holding it in a favorable viewing position. And a new wearable device, Alex, monitors the angle of your neck and vibrates when your posture is poor

The Verdict: Neither product has been tested in a human study. Some scientists say the technological nannies are a good idea. Others caution that neck pain and headaches have complex causes, and—to the surprise of some researchers—a recent study found that better posture doesn’t necessarily prevent pain.

The Text Neck Indicator, invented by Plantation, Fla., chiropractor Dean L. Fishman, shows a green light when your phone is tilted toward you at an “acceptable” viewing angle, defined by the app as at least 65 degrees from the horizontal, says Dr. Fishman. The goal is to encourage people to use their phones with their head in neutral position, with the ears over the shoulders, rather than craned forward, he says. Dr. Fishman has trademarked the term Text Neck.
 

Alex, a small device worn behind the neck from Namu Inc. of Seoul, vibrates when the neck is tilted too far forward. Using an iPhone or Android app, the user calibrates the device by touching the screen when in good posture and poor posture. Alex was launched on Kickstarter and sells on Indiegogo for $99.

If you already have pain, “there may be a benefit if you use something like this in conjunction with an exercise program that strengthens neck muscles and muscles stabilizing the head,” says Alan S. Hilibrand, professor of spinal surgery at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

In 2014, a study in the journal Surgical Technology International used a computer model to calculate that the force to the cervical spine—the seven vertebrae in the neck region—increased from 10 or 12 pounds with the head in a neutral position to 27 pounds at a 15-degree forward tilt and 49 pounds at 45 degrees.

The extra force results in more load on discs, which can eventually degenerate and lead to chronic neck pain, says study co-author Kenneth K. Hansraj, a cervical surgeon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Technological reminders, such as Alex and the Text Neck Indicator, can help “raise awareness” about good posture, adds Dr. Hansraj, who has no link to Dr. Fishman or Namu.

ENLARGE

The Text Neck Indicator app. Photo: Dean Fishman

Some scientists say that, for reasons not yet fully understood, poor posture doesn’t appear to be as linked to neck pain as common sense would suggest. A study of 1,108 adolescents published earlier in May in the journal of the American Physical Therapy Association found no link between posture, including neck tilted forward, and either pain or headaches.

“Can you say to the whole population: If you improve your posture you reduce your risk of neck pain? We haven’t the evidence to say that,” says study co-author Leon M. Straker. a professor of physiotherapy at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Still, devices such as Alex could be helpful for certain people who have noticed that their pain increases with prolonged periods in poor posture, he adds.

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In testing Alex, I liked that I could adjust the neck tilt the device considered “bad,” which allowed me to set reasonable goals. I also liked that the device allowed me to choose how long it gave me before vibrating to warn of poor posture. I chose to have it vibrate after my neck had been craned forward for a minute.

In a brief test of the Text Neck Indicator, on a friend’s Android phone, I found that tilting the device until the light turned green improved my posture from my habitual neck crane to a smaller bend forward. To achieve a neutral position, I needed to not only tilt the phone as prompted by the app, but also move it high in front of my face.

That illustrates the trade-off between improving your neck angle and potentially causing your shoulders and arms to hurt, says Jack Dennerlein, director of the occupational biomechanics and ergonomics laboratory at Northeastern University in Boston. To reduce stress on muscles when raising the phone, hold your arms closer to your body, says Dr. Fishman, adding that holding the phone at a proper angle and height gets easier with improved strength and muscle memory.

Craning your neck occasionally isn’t a bad thing, but it is best for the body to move and a change position often, says Eric K. Robertson, director of graduate physical therapy education for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and a spokesman for the American Physical Therapy Association. When you’re working on a computer or using a device, try to take a break every 15 or 20 minutes and stretch or change position, he says.

 

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