Desk Neck & Text Neck: Why Your Neck and Shoulders Keep Hurting

In the age of working from home, computer-based jobs, and having our entire lives at our fingertips, our neck, mid-back, and shoulders are taking a beating. Forward head posture has become the new normal. Upper neck and shoulder pain continues to plague even the most active among us. And if you've experienced it, you may have also experienced the frustrating cycle of treatment after treatment: sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't, and the pain keeps coming back. The reality is that an hour of passive treatment can feel great, but it probably isn't going to erase the effects of 5-10 hours of computer and phone use every day.

And there's another piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked: not every muscle that hurts is the muscle causing the problem.

What is "locked long" and "locked short"?

A locked-long muscle is a muscle that spends a lot of time in a chronically lengthened position.

With desk and phone posture, this can include many of the muscles around the back of the neck, upper back, and shoulder blades. They are constantly being pulled away from their ideal resting position as the head drifts forward and the shoulders round.

These muscles often become the ones we notice first. They feel tight. They ache. They burn. They may even develop painful trigger points. So naturally, we want to stretch them, massage them, needle them, or otherwise try to make them "looser."

But here's where things get interesting... The muscles that don't feel tight can be playing a big role!

Some muscles become locked short, meaning they spend a lot of time in a shortened position.

Think about what happens when you're sitting at a computer:

Your head moves forward. Your shoulders round. Your arms reach toward the keyboard. Your chest and the muscles at the front of the shoulders remain shortened, while the muscles behind you are pulled into a lengthened position.

The shortened muscles may not feel nearly as uncomfortable as the muscles on the back of your neck and shoulders. That doesn't mean they're innocent! In fact, they may be contributing to why the muscles that are locked long are constantly working from a disadvantaged, lengthened position in the first place.

Why does the "tight" muscle hurt?

A muscle that is held in a lengthened position for long periods can become irritated and sensitive. It is being asked to provide stability and control while sitting in a position where it may not be mechanically efficient. This is one reason the muscles around the upper back and neck can feel like they're working all day. Your neck and upper back can experience a similar problem when they're constantly working to support a head that has drifted forward.

And because a lengthened muscle can be more vulnerable to overload, the muscle that is crying out isn't necessarily the muscle that started the problem. The shortened muscles may be pulling their antagonist muscles into that lengthened, vulnerable position.

So what should you actually do?

The answer isn't necessarily to sit perfectly straight all day. There is no single "perfect posture," and trying to hold yourself rigidly upright for eight hours can create its own problems. Instead, think about movement, variety, and capacity.

1. Change positions frequently

Your best posture is often your next posture.

Stand up. Walk around. Change how you're sitting. Move your neck and shoulders. Take your hands off the keyboard.

Even small movement breaks can help reduce the amount of time your tissues spend in one position.

2. Look beyond the painful area

If your upper traps and neck are constantly tight, endlessly stretching them may not be the complete answer.

It can be useful to look at the entire system:

• How are your shoulders sitting?

• How much movement do you have through your upper back?

• Are you spending most of your day with your arms in front of you?

• How well can your shoulder blades move?

• Are the muscles at the front of your chest and shoulders doing too much?

• Does your neck have the strength and endurance to support your head throughout the day?

These are all answers we can work on together so you can get a better understanding of the how and why.

3. Build strength and endurance

Your neck and upper back are designed to work.

Rather than trying to eliminate every sensation of tightness, we can gradually improve the capacity of the muscles to tolerate the demands being placed on them.

That might mean strengthening the upper back, improving shoulder blade control, working on deep neck flexor endurance, or simply getting your body used to spending more time in different positions.

4. Make your environment work for you

Your workstation doesn't need to be perfect, but it should make your life easier.

Consider:

• Bringing your monitor closer to eye level

• Keeping your keyboard and mouse within easy reach

• Using a separate keyboard if you're working from a laptop

• Adjusting your chair so your feet are supported

• Alternating between sitting and standing when possible

• Avoiding spending hours looking down at your phone

But remember: ergonomics should support movement, not replace it.

Where Acupuncture and Athletic Therapy fit in

This is where a combined approach can be particularly useful.

Acupuncture can help address pain and muscle sensitivity while also considering the broader pattern of tension and restriction through the neck, shoulders, and upper back. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, persistent tension and pain can also be viewed through patterns of impaired circulation and movement of Qi and Blood.

Athletic therapy can then help identify contributing movement and strength deficits and build your capacity to tolerate the activities you actually need to do, whether that's working at a desk, snowboarding, lifting, climbing, or simply getting through your day without constantly thinking about your neck.

The goal isn't to make you dependent on treatment every time your neck gets tight. The goal is to use treatment as a tool while helping you become more resilient to the things that are causing the problem in the first place.