Tech Neck Can Cause Jawline Swelling & Inflammation — How To De-puff the Area 

I assumed, like many things in life, my less defined jawline was simply something that happens as we get older. But recently upon chatting with a holistic esthetician Hayley Wood, founder of Therapeutic Skin Coach, I realized my problem might stem from elsewhere: A puffy jawline can be a sign of "tech neck," or what we are colloquially calling our newfound cellphone- and laptop-created posture. 

But apparently that's not the only thing poor posture can do to the area. Wood says it also does a major number on our lymphatic drainage. 

"Tech neck can eventually make it hard for that natural flow to occur. If you have a roadblock in your fluids moving, it's like a traffic jam, and the buildup of fluids eventually has to go somewhere. So naturally, the pooling of excess fluids will start to collect in certain areas of that highway system," she says. "This explains why a lot of people with tech neck (or just neck tension) tend to experience pooling under the chin." And guess what: This pooling results in that swelling, inflamed feeling I noted above.

There are a lot of things to help your swollen jawline triggered by tech neck. Here, Wood's best advice.

While we said earlier that it's usually not a cause for concern, sometimes puffiness in this area can be a sign of something more serious. "First and foremost, we have to evaluate your overall health. If you have a thyroid condition or low blood pressure, we need to be careful in how we monitor the lymph pooling in certain areas," she says. You can visit your doctor to see if your glands might be a symptom of something else.

Then, of course, you can start treating the problem at the root: your hunched-over bod position. "For most other cases, proper alignment is really key to helping the lymph get back on track," she says. For more information on how you should be holding your phone, see what the experts say here; and for how to best sit at your desk, see here. 

Listen, good posture takes work from morning to midday to the evening. "I have personally found that a nice morning routine with alignment will support you throughout the day. Just check in with what may be feeling out of alignment or where you are holding tension when you wake up. Then do some light stretching before you get into your day. Most of us wake up with a stiff neck and then go straight into doing emails," she says. "It's important to watch this habit to help prevent poor circulation and tech neck. If you have a job where you are working a ton at the computer or a desk, I would suggest implementing some breaks to stretch. Rolling the shoulders, stretching for your toes, opening up the chest, and even just loosening the jaw can help a ton." 

"Techniques like gentle self-massage, gua sha, and even facial rolling can promote that," she says. See our guides to rolling, lymphatic massage, and gua sha here to help you get started. Or, if you suspect you really need help, see a facialist to guide you. "Many holistic estheticians are certified and trained to do manual lymphatic drainage in order to help with the effects of tech neck on the skin. They can help you by setting you up with the proper self-care for home use," she says.