A Guide to Forward Head Posture:
October 19, 2009 by Back & Neck Pain Resources
Filed under Pain Relief Treatments
There are many people who complain of various aches and pains all over their body especially around the upper back and the head. For these people, headaches, pain in their neck area, knots in their shoulders, and even soreness in their facial muscles, chest muscles and arms are common occurrences.
Actually, most of these conditions can actually be attributed to one thing. They occur because of the poor position that these people have. What they are suffering is something called “Forward Head Posture.”
Here is a brief guide to Forward Head posture:
What is Forward head posture?
In medical terms, forward head posture is the anterior positioning of the cervical spine. As the name implies, the condition is a bad position that your body develops through a variety of reasons. In this position your head is slightly leaning forward which causes this unnecessary strain on your joints and muscles.
To be able to identify it, you could stand straight and ask one of your friends to look at you from the side. If you have good posture your ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle should sit in vertical alignment. However, if your head is slightly leaning forward, usually meaning your ears are not in alignment with the rest of your body, then you may have Forward head posture.
How is it caused?
Developing Forward head posture is a long process brought about by constant and repetitive motions wherein the head is leaning to the front. When you think back to your day to day activities, you would be able to see how this may have come about.
While working, you may be always looking down while you are typing or while reading something on the computer monitor. While sitting down, you may be sitting improperly with your shoulders rounded and back hunched.
It could even develop while you are driving home after work as driving your with your head more than 2 to 3 inches away from the headrest can already strain your neck. Lastly, walking while you are carrying a backpack in the wrong manner (just slung over a single shoulder) could worsen the condition.
What are the common treatments?
Unfortunately, most of the common treatments would just respond to the symptoms of Forward head posture. Some people would take pain killing medicine or apply pain numbing topical creams or hot and cold packs to the painful area.
Others would also use neck braces to constrict movement. This would help in making the person’s motions more constricted and compact, which helps in lessening the strain of the muscles and joints in that area.
What can I do right now to help myself feel better?
You could try strengthening the muscles around the neck and back area to be able to make them more capable of handling the strain that you put to them. In addition, once they are stronger, they can become tough enough to support your neck and back which helps in avoiding forward head posture.
As mentioned earlier, Forward Head Posture is caused by a process or repetitive actions that make the head tilt forward. As such, To be able to feel better, it would be important to implement changes to your lifestyle in addition to the exercises. You should be more aware of the position of your neck and head when you are doing your regular activities.
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