Discover My Top Tips For Text Neck + Hump Neck

Ever catch a glimpse of yourself in a window or mirror and been shocked at how you were holding yourself? Yep, I’ve been there many times but there was one time where I was?really?not happy – honestly, my head was SO far forward, it almost seemed circus-level unnatural!???

It was a good wake-up call though. Not that I spend the whole day walking rigidly and keeping my head firmly over my spine (far from it!), but now?when I catch myself slouching, I CONGRATULATE myself for noticing AND THEN, I make the necessary adjustments.

You see, there is no point?beating yourself up when you find yourself in forward head; it only makes you feel bad and doesn’t work because you’re now?less?likely to correct yourself next time. Not good! (I’m not making this up; check out?Tiny Habits from Stanford behaviour scientist, BJ Fogg).

But working on addressing forward head is still a very good idea. Not only because it’s often considered unsightly but?because it helps with?neck and shoulder?tension, back pain, bone loss, headaches, brain fog, nerve pain, eye strain…even pelvic floor issues!

First off, let’s define what we’re talking about:

Text/tech neck?is where muscles get stressed/strained from?using screens e.g. phones, tablets, and computers, resulting in neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, and soreness.

Hump neck?– aka the dowager’s hump (lovely term, eh?). This is?a rounded hunch that occurs at the base of your neck. It’s usually caused by chronic forward-leaning posture, which can then contribute to bone loss (and not the other way round!).

BOTH neck issues are caused by forward head, which can happily be reversed/reduced using the following tips:

???CHECKING YOUR ALIGNMENT

This is the most important one and not necessarily intuitive! Usually when we catch ourselves with forward head/slouching, we try to fix it by “standing to attention”. Unfortunately although this might look better, it doesn’t really address the problem and can make things worse. Ouch!

How?

When you go from slouching to standing to attention, you do move your spine through space BUT you are?moving that whole section of the spine?in ONE LUMP and not making any change to the individual vertebrae?(and putting excessive?pressure on some parts of your spine).

Do this instead!

1. The next time you catch yourself slouching, place your hand on your breastbone first and then try lifting the breastbone?gently?without thrusting your rips to the ceiling. You won’t get as far vertical as?when you stand to attention but that’s okay. This is a work in progress so work with what you’ve got.

Extra TIP: This movement starts?to move the individual vertebrae so you could imagine them slotting back into position, moving up the spine, one after another like a pearl necklace.

2. Now, place your hand on the top of your head and imagine pushing this hand up to the ceiling as you (gently!)?lengthen your spine.

Extra TIP: This movement creates space between the vertebrae so you could imagine each vertebrae lifting and separating slightly for extra effect.

3. Then, place a finger on the tip of your nose and push (gently!) back, dropping your chin a little as you do so and imagining the back of your head going up a small ramp. If you’re doing it right, you’ll?create a double chin effect and feel the muscles in the front of your throat.

Extra Tip: No, this doesn’t CAUSE double chin; in fact, it can help against it. Win win!

???REDUCING YOUR SCREEN TIME

This can be done by reducing your?total amount of screen time and/or taking regular breaks (ideally every 20 minutes!) while you’re on a screen.

Tip: add in an eye break by going to a window and looking at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds (the 20:20:20 rule). Resting your eyes also helps release the tension in?your neck, in general.

???RELEASING YOUR NECK MUSCLES

My favourite way to do this is to lie on the floor, knees bent, with a Sissel toning ball between the inner edge of my R shoulder blade and my neck. (As an alternative, you could use a tennis ball with a blanket on top of it but I wouldn’t recommend this long term as it’s a bit too intense on the nervous system).

Now, raise the R arm to the?ceiling and then move the arm back and forwards, side to side in space feeling how that changes the sensation. If this feels ok, you could lift your hips slightly and repeat. BEFORE you do the other?side, just rest on the floor and notice the difference between the shoulders. HEAVEN!!! (Obviously, do the other side now : )

???STRETCHING YOUR CHEST MUSCLES

There are many options here but my favourite is to lie down with knees bent and pillow under head (so that the chin is parallel to the floor). Raise arms to ceiling and then open out to the sides so you look like a letter “T”. Keep the elbows slightly bent, the palms facing the ceiling and the arms floating over the floor. Now, start to move the arms, holding this shape, slowly towards your waist and back up in the direction of your ears. Only go as far as you can keep the lower ribs touching the floor (without straining!). Think “snow angels” but without the snow!

Now, which one of these tips could you implement right now to start working on text neck or hump neck?

If you have neck/back issues, my?Pain-free Movement Program?can help you get rid of pain and get you back to doing the things you love???

Book a FREE, no obligation, 15 min Clarity Call with me?HERE?to find out more.

Did you learn something new? I hope so! For more WHOLE body health tips, you can sign up for my FREE weekly Newsletter?here.