Can eye strain cause neck pain?
Your eyes and neck work as a team. In a study of people with and without chronic neck pain, neck and shoulder discomfort during a demanding visual task grew the longer the task lasted, and grew more in people whose eyes ached and felt strained.1 In another study, the harder the eye’s focusing muscle worked at a close screen, the more active the trapezius became, the big muscle across the top of the shoulders.2
The likely reason is simple: the harder it is to see, the more you hold your head still and lean in, and your neck and shoulder muscles hold that position for hours.
How does glare affect your posture?
In a lab study of computer work, direct glare increased blinking, made people bend their heads forward and raised blood flow in the trapezius, a sign the muscle was working harder.3 A screen that’s harsh to look at quietly changes how you sit.
Why does the SCM get tight?
The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) runs from behind each ear down to the collarbone and helps hold up and turn your head. When you squint and push your head toward a screen, the SCM and the muscles at the back of the neck carry more of your head’s weight. Over a long day that can leave them tight and tender, with tension spreading into the forehead, temples and jaw.
Can flicker make you tense?
Flicker is a sensory stressor. In a Swedish lab study, people most sensitive to flicker showed higher brain arousal under fluorescent light that flickered too fast to see, and worked faster but less accurately.4 Stress like that often shows up in the body as a clenched jaw, raised shoulders and a guarded neck. In an office trial, removing flicker from lighting cut headaches and eye strain by more than half.5
How to ease screen-related neck and jaw tension
- Put the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, about an arm’s length away.
- Enlarge text instead of leaning in.
- Get your eyes checked; an out-of-date prescription makes you strain.
- Cut glare from windows and lamps.
- Check your jaw now and then: lips together, teeth apart.
- Take short breaks to stand, roll your shoulders and look into the distance.
- Choose a screen with steady light: no PWM flicker and no glaring light source.