Neck
Tech neck exercises, and the part that is not your neck
The neck is where it hurts. The upper back is usually where the change has to happen.
Clinically reviewed by Lee Albert, NMT · 8 August 2026
Tech neck is a description, not a diagnosis
The phrase describes what people notice: an aching neck and upper shoulders after hours at a screen or a phone. It is not a condition anyone will diagnose you with, and that is worth knowing because it means nothing here is treating a named disease. It is a set of movements for a neck that has been held still too long.
Held still is the operative part. The most reliable thing about desk-related neck discomfort is that it responds to moving, and moving often beats moving hard.
Why the exercises start below the neck
The neck sits on top of the upper back, and if the upper back does not extend or rotate, the neck ends up making up the difference all day. That is why half of the sequence below is thoracic work despite the complaint being cervical.
There is trial evidence pointing the same way. In a small randomised study of office workers whose neck pain had lasted more than twelve weeks, a thoracic mobility programme, which explicitly included kneeling rotations, improved pain, disability and range of motion about as much as thoracic manipulation did. Twenty-six people is small, so treat it as support for the approach rather than proof of it.
The deep neck muscles are the strengthening half
Alongside mobility there is a capacity problem. The deep muscles at the front of the neck are the ones that hold the head back over the shoulders, and they fatigue quietly. Training them is not dramatic: a small nod with the head barely leaving the surface is the whole movement.
Done properly it should feel like effort low at the front of the throat rather than a strain at the base of the skull. If the jaw is clenching or the big surface muscles are standing out, the movement is being done by the wrong things and the range should come down.
The sequence
- 1
Controlled neck rotation · 6 to 8 each side, slowly
The gentlest possible start, and a way of finding out what range is actually there today before anything is asked of it.
- 2
Upper trapezius stretch · 30 to 45 seconds each side
The muscle that runs from the neck to the top of the shoulder, and the one most people are pointing at when they describe this. Let the shoulder stay down rather than pulling harder with the hand.
- 3
Deep neck flexor nod · 8 to 10 small nods, 5 second holds
The strengthening half. A tiny nod, chin drawing back rather than lifting. If the muscles at the front of the neck stand out or the jaw clenches, make it smaller.
- 4
Neck isometric hold · 5 holds of 10 seconds, each direction
Neck muscles working with no movement, which is well tolerated even on the days rotation is not. Press gently against your own hand at about a quarter effort.
- 5
Thoracic extension over a chair back · 60 to 90 seconds
The upper back opening in the opposite direction to the one a desk holds it in. This is the movement most people feel the biggest immediate difference from.
- 6
Open book rotation · 8 each side
Upper back rotation lying on your side, so the lower back cannot supply it instead. Slow, and follow the moving hand with your eyes.
- 7
Cat cow, upper back focus · 8 to 10 slow rounds
Flexion and extension through the upper back under your own control. A good way to finish and an easy one to repeat during a working day.
- 8
Scapular wall slide · 8 to 10 repetitions
The shoulder blades learning to move rather than sitting fixed and forward. Small range against a wall, which gives immediate feedback on whether it is happening.
- 9
Wall angels · 8 to 10 repetitions
The whole pattern together, and the hardest thing here. Keep the lower back flat against the wall; if it lifts, reduce how far the arms travel.
Little and often beats a long session. Three or four of these once or twice through the working day will do more than the whole list on a Sunday, because the problem is a position held for hours rather than a lack of exercise.
What the research says
There is no guideline for tech neck, because it is not a diagnosis. What can be sourced is the evidence for the components: thoracic mobility work, neck exercise generally, and the safety thresholds that decide when a neck needs assessment rather than exercise.
On the thoracic half, a 2022 randomised study of 26 office workers with neck pain lasting more than twelve weeks compared a thoracic mobility exercise programme, which named kneeling rotations among its exercises, against thoracic manipulation, both added to cervical care. Both groups improved significantly in pain, disability and range of motion, and the authors concluded the effects were similar. The trial is small and that is stated rather than glossed.
On the neck itself, Cochrane's review of exercise for neck pain supports exercise as part of management, and a randomised trial of yoga for chronic neck pain found improvements in pain and function against a self-care exercise control. Neither identifies one best protocol.
On when not to exercise, primary care guidance on cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy sets out the red flags used at the bottom of this page: new symptoms before 20 or after 55, weakness across more than one nerve level, sensory loss across more than one area, fever, malaise, unexplained weight loss, and pain that is unremitting or disturbs sleep. Cervical myelopathy in particular shows up as clumsy hands, dropping things, and an unsteady walk.
Sources
- 1Seo, Song and Shin, thoracic spine manipulation versus mobility exercises in 26 office workers with chronic neck pain, a randomized controlled study, Medical Science Monitor (2022)
In a small trial of 26 office workers whose neck pain had lasted more than 12 weeks, a thoracic mobility programme that explicitly included kneeling rotations improved pain, disability and range of motion, with effects similar to thoracic manipulation.
- 2Gross et al., exercises for mechanical neck disorders (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015)
Combined cervical, shoulder and scapulothoracic strengthening and stretching improved pain and function, while when only stretching exercises were used no beneficial effects may be expected; no high quality evidence was found.
- 3Cramer et al., effects of yoga on chronic neck pain, systematic review and meta-analysis (Clinical Rehabilitation, 2017)
Across three randomised trials in 188 people with chronic non-specific neck pain, neck pain intensity and neck pain-related disability were significantly lower with yoga than with usual care in the short term.
- 4McCartney et al., cervical radiculopathy and cervical myelopathy, diagnosis and management in primary care, British Journal of General Practice (2018)
Lists neck red flags as new symptoms before age 20 or after 55, weakness across more than one myotome, sensory loss across more than one dermatome, malaise, fever, unexplained weight loss, and pain that is unremitting or disturbs sleep, and describes cervical myelopathy as clumsy hands, reduced dexterity and an unsteady gait.
Common questions
What is tech neck?
A description rather than a diagnosis: aching in the neck and upper shoulders after long periods at a screen or phone. Nobody will diagnose you with it. That matters because it means the aim is restoring movement to a neck that has been held still, not treating a named disease.
Why do these exercises focus on my upper back?
Because the neck sits on top of it and compensates for it. In a small randomised trial, office workers with neck pain lasting over twelve weeks improved in pain, disability and range of motion from a thoracic mobility programme about as much as from thoracic manipulation. Twenty-six people is a small trial, so it supports the approach rather than proving it.
How often should I do them?
Little and often. The underlying problem is a position held for hours, so short sets during the day beat one long session. Three or four movements once or twice through a working day is a realistic target.
Will this fix my posture?
We are not going to claim that. What the sources support is that movement helps neck pain, not that a particular resting posture gets permanently changed by exercises. The realistic benefit is a neck and upper back that move more and complain less, which is worth having on its own.
My arm is tingling. Is that tech neck?
Treat that as a reason to get assessed rather than to keep exercising, particularly if there is weakness as well as tingling, or if it covers more than one area of the arm. Numbness or weakness spreading down an arm is on the red flag list in the primary care guidance cited below.
When should I see someone about neck pain?
New symptoms before age 20 or after 55, weakness across more than one nerve level, sensory loss across more than one area, fever, malaise, unexplained weight loss, or pain that is unremitting or wakes you. Also clumsy hands, dropping things, or an unsteady walk, which are the signs of cord involvement rather than a stiff neck.
Get assessed rather than exercising for weakness in an arm or hand, numbness covering more than one area, clumsy hands or dropping things, an unsteady walk, fever or unexplained weight loss, or neck pain that is unremitting or wakes you at night. Stop and speak to a clinician if a movement brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and seek urgent care for any loss of bladder or bowel control or numbness around the saddle area.
Also called tech neck exercises, text neck exercises, tech neck stretches, exercises for tech neck, phone neck exercises, computer neck exercises. Movements are drawn from the clinically authored Vinys library. This page is general movement information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. How the method works.