Tech Neck: Is It Really About Your Posture?
By Doug O'Connell, LMT | 27 Years Experience, 25,000+ Sessions | Westchester County, NY
Someone's probably told you to sit up straighter. Fix your monitor height. Stop looking down at your phone so much. All reasonable advice, and none of it actually fixes tech neck — because posture isn't the real problem. It's what's already happened to the muscles by the time posture becomes something you have to think about.
What's Actually Going On
Hours of looking down at a screen puts your neck and upper traps in a shortened position for most of your day. Over time, those muscles adapt to that shortened length — they get tight and stay tight, even when you're not at your desk. That's why sitting up straighter for five minutes doesn't fix anything: the muscles themselves are already holding the pattern. You can have perfect posture for an hour and still feel that same pull the second you relax, because the tightness is baked into the tissue now, not just your habits.
This is also where a lot of tension headaches actually start. Tight traps and neck muscles refer pain upward, so a headache that seems to come out of nowhere is often just your neck telling you something in a different location.
How I Actually Work On It
I work the traps, the neck, and the upper back as one connected system, not isolated spots. Lengthening and releasing that shortened tissue is what actually changes the resting length of the muscle — not stretching in the moment, but resetting where the muscle sits when you're not thinking about it at all. Once that releases, I use targeted stretching to lock in the new length so it holds instead of tightening right back up the next time you're at your desk for six hours straight.
What You Can Do Between Sessions
Chin tucks — pull your chin straight back, like you're making a double chin on purpose, hold 3-5 seconds, repeat 10 times. A couple sets a day genuinely helps hold what we work on in session.
Doorway chest stretch — stand in a doorway, forearms on the frame, and lean forward gently until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold 20-30 seconds. Tight chest muscles pull your shoulders forward, which makes the neck tightness worse.
Most people won't do a full routine every day, and that's fine — chin tucks alone, done consistently, make a real difference. Everything past that is a bonus.
What To Expect
Most people feel looser through the neck and traps after the first session, but if you've been at a desk for years, this pattern took years to build — it's not going to fully unwind in one visit. Regular sessions, alongside the chin tucks, is what actually shifts the baseline instead of just giving temporary relief.
If tech neck is wrecking your days in Westchester, I come directly to your home with everything needed — whether you call it in-home, mobile, or house-call massage, it's the same idea: real therapeutic work, delivered where you actually are. No commute, no spa, no wasted time.
Call or text: (914) 523-0116 dougoconnelllmt.com
Serving Bronxville, Eastchester, Scarsdale, White Plains, Harrison, Chappaqua, Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Ardsley, and throughout Westchester County, NY.