Text neck is a relatively new phenomenon that can cause chronic pain in the neck. It is a repetitive stress injury that is caused by excessive use of handheld devices. While tilting your head forward to look at your phone may not seem like a big deal, even a slight change of your cervical alignment can add tens of pounds of force to your neck. Overuse of handheld devices can cause pain, muscle weakness, headache, and stiffness in the neck.