New Delhi, March 10 -- It usually announces itself at inconvenient moments- half-way through a work call, while tying your hair, when you turn your head to reverse the car and feel a dull pull you can't quite ignore. Neck stiffness used to feel like an adult problem, something you earned after decades of bad posture or long commutes. Now, physiotherapists and orthopaedic clinics in metro cities are seeing it show up far earlier. Youngsters in their early 20s; professionals at their first jobs; bodies that work just fine otherwise are all going through the so-called 'tech neck'.

What makes it difficult to pre-empt is that it's rarely dramatic. There's no single injury, no moment you can point to- just hours spent slightly forward, slightl...