The relation between neck pain and text neck in adults - A narrative literature review
Roininen, Niclas (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503184443
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503184443
Tiivistelmä
This thesis work is a narrative literature review that aimed to explore the phenomenon of "text neck". In fact, the research question is whether text neck and neck pain are related in any way.
The thesis begins with a theory part that includes important anatomical structures of the neck area which contribute to movement, protection of organs, and metabolism. Although non-specific neck pain is the most common type of neck pain, the other possible causes were discussed and researched throughout the work. Even though there are plenty of already known reasons for neck pain, this thesis includes the most common ones which are cervical radiculopathy, bone fractures, spinal osteoarthritis, different types of scoliosis, and musculoskeletal tissue strains and sprains.
From the point of physiotherapy, it was important to discuss some common rehabilitation methods such as therapeutic exercise, the client approach, and manual therapy. The objective was to provide the reader with a clear understanding of existing research on the causes, symptoms, impacts of text neck. By examining a range of peer-reviewed studies, the review highlighted the current understanding of text neck, identifying key patterns and areas of agreement or divergence in the literature.
The results from the studies included show that text neck is a risk factor in neck pain but that is where things get complicated. There might not be a 100 percent certain causation relation between text neck and neck pain, but instead there could be underlying individual factors such as the amount of device use, physical activity levels, and pre-existing conditions such as injuries, diseases, genetic structural problems etc. that are affecting the prevalence and intensity of neck pain. Future research is required to make stronger conclusions about the topic.
The thesis begins with a theory part that includes important anatomical structures of the neck area which contribute to movement, protection of organs, and metabolism. Although non-specific neck pain is the most common type of neck pain, the other possible causes were discussed and researched throughout the work. Even though there are plenty of already known reasons for neck pain, this thesis includes the most common ones which are cervical radiculopathy, bone fractures, spinal osteoarthritis, different types of scoliosis, and musculoskeletal tissue strains and sprains.
From the point of physiotherapy, it was important to discuss some common rehabilitation methods such as therapeutic exercise, the client approach, and manual therapy. The objective was to provide the reader with a clear understanding of existing research on the causes, symptoms, impacts of text neck. By examining a range of peer-reviewed studies, the review highlighted the current understanding of text neck, identifying key patterns and areas of agreement or divergence in the literature.
The results from the studies included show that text neck is a risk factor in neck pain but that is where things get complicated. There might not be a 100 percent certain causation relation between text neck and neck pain, but instead there could be underlying individual factors such as the amount of device use, physical activity levels, and pre-existing conditions such as injuries, diseases, genetic structural problems etc. that are affecting the prevalence and intensity of neck pain. Future research is required to make stronger conclusions about the topic.