Every centimetre your head drifts forward multiplies the load on your cervical spine. A human head weighs around five kilograms in neutral position, but tilting it forward can multiply the load the neck carries. Repeat that eight hours a day, five days a week, and the source of the pain becomes obvious.
Set up your workspace
- Top of the screen exactly at eye level
- Screen at arm's length
- Back fully supported, feet flat on the floor
- Elbows at roughly 90 degrees
- Never cradle the phone between ear and shoulder — use a headset
The twenty rule
Every twenty minutes, look away for twenty seconds and move your neck gently. Frequent light movement beats one exercise session at the end of the day.
Three simple moves at your desk
- Chin tuck: draw your chin back as if making a double chin, hold five seconds, repeat ten times.
- Shoulder retraction: squeeze your shoulder blades together, hold five seconds, repeat ten times.
- Side tilt: tilt your head gently toward each shoulder while keeping the other shoulder down, twenty seconds per side.
When to stop self-treating
If pain persists beyond two weeks, comes with numbness in the hand or fingers, or brings a daily headache starting at the base of your skull — the problem has moved past adjusting your chair.