What is text neck and how can you prevent it?

July 16, 2025

Providence Health Team

[5 MIN READ]

While text neck syndrome is not an official diagnosis, it describes the pain and stiffness a person can feel after spending too much time on a phone or other device.
Some of the main symptoms of text neck include neck pain, middle back pain and headaches.
The best way to treat text neck pain is by consciously working on straightening your posture. You can also try various physical therapy exercises.

If you are the parent of a pre-teen or teenager, you probably are quite familiar with how much time they spend on their phone. But did you know all that time with their head bent over a mobile device can literally be hazardous to their health?

Some people are calling the phenomenon “text neck syndrome” or “tech neck.”

“Text neck syndrome is not a true diagnosis, but more of something that we see commonly because of the amount of cell phone usage with poor posture,” says Avinash Ramchandani, M.D., a Providence pain medicine specialist who sees patients in Santa Rosa, California. “It has become more prevalent in recent years, as usage of handheld devices has increased.”

Let’s take a closer look at the symptoms of text neck syndrome and, of course, how you treat and prevent it in the first place.

Symptoms of text neck syndrome

The main symptoms of text neck can vary and include neck pain, middle back pain and headaches. While the headaches may be classified as migraines, they usually come from the back of the neck.

“The pain and headaches can get worse toward the end of the day,” says Dr. Ramchandani. “Sometimes the pain can be worse in the morning if there is associated arthritis.”

The repetitive motion of bending your head down for extended periods of time can cause significant damage over time. The average head weighs about 11 pounds, which means you’re essentially pushing your neck and back with an 11-pound weight for much of the day.

The location of the chronic pain may be different depending on your posture while on a device. For example, if you usually hold a phone with both hands or mount it on a table, the pain may be evenly distributed on both sides of the neck and in the upper back. However, if you typically use one hand, you may have more pain on one side of the neck.

Treatment for text neck

The best treatment, says Dr. Ramchandani, is prevention. “You need to develop habits to improve your posture,” he says. “Unfortunately, professional help sometimes is required if you have already developed text neck syndrome. In that case, we have to get you to a physical therapist, and if nothing else helps, an injection (like an epidural) may be an option.”

You may be able to decrease your pain by following these tips:

Put your phone at eye level and keep your spine in a neutral position.
At your desk, sit in a chair that is reclined about 20 to 30 degrees.
Change positions frequently when working at a computer, phone, tablet or other device.
Lie on your back to relieve some of the pressure on your neck.
Arch your neck and back every once in a while.
Perform neck exercises after using your device.
Take frequent breaks from screen time. The longer your neck stays in an unhealthy position, the more of an effect it will have on your spine.

Physical therapy exercises for text neck

If the pain has gotten bad enough, you may need to see your doctor to get a referral to a physical therapist. But in the meantime, you can try these exercises at home:

Chin tuck: Sit or stand with good posture, then tuck your chin toward your chest and hold for about 20 seconds.
Shoulder rolls: Roll your shoulders forward and backward, changing the direction occasionally.
Towel pull: Place a rolled towel around your neck and pull your head back so it stretches your neck muscles.
Side-to-side stretches: Move your head to look over one shoulder, then slowly look in the other direction over your other shoulder.

Long-term effects of text neck

In the short term, your neck may be uncomfortably sore if you spend too much time on screens. In the long term, you could experience breakdown of cervical disks and damage to your spinal nerves. This nerve compression can cause cervical radiculopathy, which is a pinched nerve in the neck that could cause weakness, numbness and tingling.

Those problems may sound dire — and that’s because they are. But you don’t have to let it get that far. The first step is noticing that you’re in pain, and that the pain usually comes when you’re focused on a device. Try some of the behaviors and exercises above, and if you don’t feel better within a few weeks, it’s time to seek medical help.

Providence pain specialists can help with your pain management so you feel more like yourself again. Just call for an appointment, and they can help you get to the root of your tech neck problem.

Contributing caregiver

Avinash Ramchandani, M.D., is a Providence pain medicine specialist who sees patients in Santa Rosa, California.

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