Skip to main content

Hunching over screens is ruining your posture — this gizmo aims to fix that

FitNeck Video
There is a whole lot to love about today’s world of constant connectivity, in which the smartphones in our pockets are thousands of times more powerful than the computer that put a man on the moon. Something that is not so great? The fact that we spend so darn long staring at these screens that it’s easy to ruin your posture.

A new product available on Kickstarter promises to help us fight that problem, however. Called FitNeck Pro, it’s a neck exercise device that is designed to correct forward head posture and neck pain caused by hunching over cell phones and laptops all day. It does this by strengthening the neck and back to pull the head back in line with shoulders, using a cervical retraction device with a resistance hinge to add extra intensity. The result, its creator claims, releases tension on the spinal cord to reduce pain and inflammation.

Recommended Videos

OK, so messing around with your neck with a gadget you bought on Kickstarter sounds like it’s a bit risky. But FitNeck’s creator James McNulty assures customers that it is based on a regularly employed exercise, created by physiotherapists, that consists of a chin tuck movement, using a towel or elastic band as resistance behind the head. The wall or chair-mounted FitNeck was developed in collaboration with industry professionals and athletes.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“After suffering for years with neck pain from sitting at my laptop all day, I finally went to the chiropractor, who sent me home with neck exercises doing the chin tuck,” McNulty told Digital Trends. “It worked well at first, but wasn’t very easy or convenient to do, so I thought to myself, ‘There has to be a better way.’ I couldn’t find any products online, so I began to develop my own.”

If you would like to get your hands (and, eventually, neck) on a FitNeck Pro, you can currently back its Kickstarter online. Prices start at $56 for a single unit, which McNulty says represents $66 off the eventual retail price. Shipping is set to take place in March. That’s just in time to start correcting your posture for summer!

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
U.S. EVs will get universal plug and charge access in 2025
u s evs will get universal plug charge access in 2025 ev car to charging station power cable plugged shutterstock 1650839656

And then, it all came together.

Finding an adequate, accessible, and available charging station; charging up; and paying for the service before hitting the road have all been far from a seamless experience for many drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S.

Read more
Rivian tops owner satisfaction survey, ahead of BMW and Tesla
The front three-quarter view of a 2022 Rivian against a rocky backdrop.

Can the same vehicle brand sit both at the bottom of owner ratings in terms of reliability and at the top in terms of overall owner satisfaction? When that brand is Rivian, the answer is a resonant yes.

Rivian ranked number one in satisfaction for the second year in a row, with owners especially giving their R1S and R1T electric vehicle (EV) high marks in terms of comfort, speed, drivability, and ease of use, according to the latest Consumer Reports (CR) owner satisfaction survey.

Read more
Hybrid vehicle sales reach U.S. record, but EV sales drop in third quarter
Tesla Cybertruck

The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales continued to grow in the U.S. in the third quarter, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported this month.

Taken together, sales of purely electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids, and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) represented 19.6% of total light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales last quarter, up from 19.1% in the second quarter.

Read more