You have been at your screen for a few hours. The meeting ran over, emails pile up, and suddenly you notice it: a stiff, nagging pain in your neck that spreads to your shoulders and sometimes your head. Neck pain from screen work is one of the most common complaints among office workers, and among people who work a lot on a laptop at home.

The good news: three targeted exercises you can do at your desk can largely prevent neck pain. They take less than five minutes and need no equipment.

Why do you get neck pain at your desk?

Neck pain from screen work rarely has a single cause. It is usually a mix: a forward head posture, sitting still for long periods, a poorly set screen or chair, and stress that often shows first in the neck and shoulders.

In a neutral position your head weighs about 5 kg. Tilt it 5 cm forward and the load can rise to 20 kilograms. Your neck muscles then work overtime all day without you noticing.

Exercise 1 — Chin tuck

What it does: corrects a forward-head posture, strengthens the deep neck muscles and eases pressure on the joints and discs in your neck.

How: sit upright, look straight ahead. Draw your chin slowly backward as if making a double chin, without looking down. Hold 3 to 5 seconds and relax. 10 repetitions, two to three times a day.

Exercise 2 — Neck muscle stretch

What it does: stretches the side-neck muscles that are often tight after a day at a screen.

How: sit upright. Bring your right ear toward your right shoulder and gently press the left shoulder down. Switch sides. 2 to 3 repetitions per side, twice a day.

Exercise 3 — Scapular retraction

What it does: activates the mid-back muscles and draws the shoulder blades back and down, so the neck is loaded less.

How: sit upright with your arms relaxed by your sides. Move your shoulder blades toward each other and down, as if holding a pencil between them. Hold 5 seconds. 3 sets of 10, twice a day.

Extra tips at your desk

  • Set your screen at eye height.
  • Move every 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Watch phone use — hold your phone at eye height.
  • Check your breathing: breathe deeply into your belly.

When should you see a physiotherapist?

See a physiotherapist and/or doctor if the neck pain lasts more than two weeks continuously, radiates to your arm, hand or fingers, comes with tingling or numbness, or gets worse at night.

At Movenda in Hasselt we always start with a thorough screening of posture, neck mobility and muscle strength. From that we build a plan that goes beyond treating the symptom.