It’s been almost a year for many people who transitioned to Working From Home.
Due to this, there has been an increase in TECH NECK. It looks like the following: someone who is sitting at a desk, hunched up in front of a computer screen, rounded back, neck jutting forward, typing away on a keyboard with no wrist support, and occasionally dropping their head forward to text quickly on their cell phone. All this can account to body pain, eye strain, and headaches!
What can help with Tech Neck?
- Split Keyboards
- Anti-Glare Screens
- Blue light filters or glasses
- Sitting at least 2 feet away from your screen
- Positioning the screen to be level with your eyes
- Use an ergonomic chair or balance ball to encourage proper posture and core strength
Helpful Exercises
- Take frequent breaks throughout the day. Set a timer for every 45 minutes to stand up, walk around, roll out neck and shoulders, and shake out body. Take 1 minute to do so.
- Stand next to a wall space and stretch out your arms and chest! This helps get the blood flowing freely to these areas.
- A warm neck pillow during the day wrapped around the neck and tops of shoulders. Invest in one you can heat up in the microwave that has a nice relaxing smell to it. You can even do some self traction on the base of your skull by pulling the neck pillow forward while leaning your head back. I recommend checking out @sewlikejane on Instagram for heatable neck pillows!
- Occasionally look away from your computer screen into natural light or at an object for 30 seconds to refocus eyes.
- Roll a tennis ball under both feet while sitting at your desk to get the blood circulating in the feet and create a nice sensation.
Acupuncture Points
Self massage on certain acupuncture points are super helpful!
- GB21, GB20, BL10. These are located along the base of the skull and highest points of the shoulders.
- For eye strain pinch the section between the bridge of your nose and press along your eyebrows. This will stimulate the points Yin Tang, BL2, Yu Yao, and SJ23.
Tech neck is such a common ailment in today’s workforce and lifestyle! Luckily there are so many tools to help support our body and mind while working and living like this. Regular acupuncture can help too 😉