Staying aware of the issue, even when you’re not looking at your phone, can help get you back in alignment.
- Researchers examined the effects of text neck on the spine and found it can affect alignment when you’re running or walking (not just looking at your phone).
- The side effects of text neck may also include added stress to joints of the lower body including the hips, knees, and ankles and limited respiratory function—all of which could affect runners’ performance.
From looking down at your phone every few minutes to working on a laptop to slouching on the couch for hours, everyday life is rife with moments of poor posture. One of the most pronounced these days is kyphosis, also known as “text neck” or “tech neck.” This happens when your head is leaning forward in a way that elongates the back of the neck, which can lead to muscle strain, headaches, and even numbness or tingling in the hands and arms.
Over time, text neck can cause exaggerated cervical spine curvature even during non-tech activities like walking, sitting, or running—eventually, that can contribute to chronic neck pain, according to new research in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers fitted 24 healthy participants with a specially designed, lightweight helmet that tracked muscle and bone involvement when the head is held in different positions—including looking upward (an extended posture), being in a neutral position, and staring downward (a flexed posture).
They found that the flexed position led to the most exertion and fatigue, which then caused participants to bend the neck even more as the head dropped forward. Researchers suggested that over time, the strain on these muscles could lead to more acute kyphosis, in which more of the spine is involved.
Even if you make sure to hold your head upright when not using your phone or computer—or take more breaks from looking down—tech neck can make you more susceptible to injury during any activity, including running, according to Xudong Zhang, Ph.D., researcher in the department of industrial and systems engineering at Texas A&M University and one of the study authors.
“The type of muscle fatigue involved here can cause notable changes in your neck position,” he told Runner’s World. “When that happens, there’s increased risk for further damage, not just in the neck but throughout the back.”
That type of misalignment can affect other parts of the body as well, he added. For example, head position that’s too far forward due to rounding in the upper back and neck can lead to increased stress on lower joints like the hips, knees, and ankles. Of course that can be especially problematic for runners who rely on these joints for performance.
Previous research has sounded a similar alarm about the dangers of text neck. For example, a 2021 study in Gait & Posture, involving 50 participants, found that smartphone use can lead to significant changes of the thoracic and lumbar spine—meaning that the middle and lower back were affected. That research highlighted how this type of kyphosis could then play a role in posture issues while standing and walking.
To some degree, kyphosis can happen as a result of aging, not just technology usage. Whatever the cause, it’s associated with notable health risks, according to research in Manual Therapy. In addition to chronic pain, this type of postural change may affect respiratory function and mobility, those researchers noted. Changes in how well you breathe can certainly affect your runs, along with limited mobility.
Being aware of how much time you spend in a flexed-neck position and counteracting that with gentle stretching can be helpful, recommended Neel Anand, M.D., director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles. He told Runner’s World that another important step is recognizing signs of fatigue or strain early, and that includes muscle tiredness and tightness, tingling fingers and hands, and intermittent headaches.
Doing gentle stretches throughout the day as well as before running can help, he added. For example, interlacing your fingers behind your head and looking upward so the shoulder blades come closer toward each other can counteract the type of rounded hunch that comes with tech usage.
“There’s a wide range of what’s considered normal in terms of spine curvature, including the neck,” Anand said. “But signs like these [tingling, tightness, headaches, etc] are often early indicators that you’re out of alignment. When that happens, being more conscious of how you’re moving and holding your head can be helpful for re-training yourself to come back to a neutral posture.”
