What Is "Tech Neck"? The Real Causes Of Neck Pain From Phone Use And How To Stop It

"Tech Neck" or "Text Neck" refers to the posture adopted when individuals look down at and use their phones. It generally involves looking down with your spine flexed and your shoulders hunched forward.

This posture is generally blamed for neck pain in individuals due to the strain it puts on the muscles, but is it really to blame?

New research suggests it's not as big a factor as was believed, and that other causes are more likely. The good thing is that they are easy to fix.

What Is Tech Neck?

"Tech Neck" or "Text Neck" refers to the poor posture individuals adopt when using their phones. It's generally described as;

• The head hangs down with no support.
• Flexion in the neck (can vary in degree)
• Shoulders pulled forward
• Being hunched over

This can happen at any time, but is more likely while sitting. Individuals usually hold the phone low, forcing them to hunch over more.

When performed for extended periods, it's believed this puts excessive stress on the muscles of your neck and upper back.

What Are Symptoms Of Tech Neck?

Symptoms can vary among individuals and in severity. However, commonly reported issues include;

• Neck pain
• Neck stiffness
• Tension headaches
• Upper back pain
• Tingling sensations in extremities 

What Causes Neck Pain From Phone Use?

A new longitudinal study from Corrreia et al. (2025) suggests that the real causes of neck pain are inactivity and poor sleep.

Their research involved 457 volunteers of both sexes and a wide age range, from 18 to 65 years. Initially, the participants were asked a series of questions concerning things like;

• Neck pain
• Phone use
• Physical activity
• Sleep
• Stress

After one year, a follow-up was completed with similar questions. What they found goes against common belief. 

Does Tech Neck Cause Neck Pain?

The researchers found that text neck and phone use were not correlated with neck pain.

"The present longitudinal study showed that text neck was not a risk factor for neck pain." (Corrreia et al., 2025)

Rather, two behaviors showed a strong correlation with neck pain: physical activity and sleep.

1. Physical Activity And Neck Pain

Compared with active individuals, less active participants had a higher risk of neck pain, while more active participants had a lower risk.

• Sedentary individuals had 2.5 times the odds of reporting neck pain. 
• Insufficiently active individuals also had about 2.4 times the odds of neck pain.
• Very active people had about a 50% lower risk of developing neck pain.

In addition to simply being stronger and having greater fitness, it's believed that exercise reduces pain through two mechanisms;

1. The activation of opioids and serotonin reduces pain. 
2. Anti-inflammatory cytokines reduce nociceptor activity.

The main conclusion was that individuals who were more active tended to have less neck pain, while those who were less active had more pain. 

2. Sleep Quality And Neck Pain

The other strong risk factor was poor sleep quality. Their research found they had a 76% greater risk of developing neck pain. 

This falls in line with previous studies that show poor quality of sleep can;

• Decrease pain thresholds and tolerance levels (Nijs et al., 2017)
• Cause or increase the intensity of pain (Haack et al., 2020)
• Can lead to poorer sleep quality (Alsaadi et al., 2014)

The quality of our sleep has a massive effect on our bodies and health. It's the most powerful health enhancer you have, and this is another great example. 

It's free to do so if your sleep quality suffers, including duration; start working on that today.

How Do You Decrease Neck Pain?

While this study suggests text neck doesn't correlate with neck pain, it's probably still a good idea to limit your screen time. 

Besides, the best way to mitigate the risk of neck pain and injury is to lead an active lifestyle. This should involve resistance training to strengthen the upper back as well as general activity.

More and more research is showing how important it is for our health. It can;

• Increase longevity (Momma et al., 2022)
• Improve quality of life.
• Decrease risk of disease and illness. (Momma et al., 2022)
• Decrease risk of injury.
• Improve cognition and brain health (Landrigan et al., 2020).
• Improve mental health (O'Sullivan, 2023).
• And a ton more!

When you have an active lifestyle, not only will you strengthen your body and improve your health, you'll also be spending less time on your phone!

Another reason to get active and strong!

Start A Training Plan Now!

Starting a fitness program is the single best thing you can do to improve your overall health. If you have questions or need help, reach out to us. We have a collection of workout plans to help you get started, or we can develop a personalized plan.

Reference 

1. Alsaadi, S. M., McAuley, J. H., Hush, J. M., et al. (2014). The bidirectional relationship between pain intensity and sleep disturbance and quality in patients with low back pain. Clinical Journal of Pain, 30(9), 755–765. https://doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0000000000000055
2. Correia, I. M. T., Ferreira, A. S., Gomes, J. F. M., Reis, F. J. J., Nogueira, L. A. C., & Meziat-Filho, N. (2025). Cervical flexion posture during smartphone use was not a risk factor for neck pain, but low sleep quality and insufficient levels of physical activity were. A longitudinal investigation. Brazilian journal of physical therapy, 29(6), 101258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjpt.2025.101258 
3. Haack, M., Simpson, N., Sethna, N., Kaur, S., & Mullington, J. (2020). Sleep deficiency and chronic pain: Potential underlying mechanisms and clinical implications. Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(1), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0439-z
4. Landrigan, J. F., Bell, T., Crowe, M., Clay, O. J., & Mirman, D. (2020). Lifting cognition: A meta-analysis of effects of resistance exercise on cognition. Psychological Research, 84(5), 1167–1183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01145-x 
5. Momma, H., et al. (2022). Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(13), 755–763. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
6. Nijs, J., Loggia, M. L., Polli, A., et al. (2017). Sleep disturbances and severe stress as glial activators: Key targets for treating central sensitization in chronic pain patients? Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 21(8), 817–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/14728222.2017.1353603 
7. O'Sullivan, D., Gordon, B. R., Lyons, M., Meyer, J. D., & Herring, M. P. (2023). Effects of resistance exercise training on depressive symptoms among young adults: A randomized controlled trial. Psychiatry Research, 326, 115322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115322