Overcoming the Painful Curse of
Forward Head Posture  

Do you suffer frequent tension headaches, knots in the back of your neck, rocks in your shoulders, or numbness and tingling in your arms and/or hands? If so, there’s a good chance the underlying cause is forward head posture – one of the leading causes of head and shoulder tension and pain.

Forward head posture, or FHP, has become one of the most common postural imbalances in recent years. When using good posture, our neck follows a straight vertical line with the middle of our shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. Forward head posture occurs when our head juts forward past that proper alignment. 

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Here’s a quick check you can do right now to see if you have forward head posture. Get up from your computer and walk through the nearest doorway. If your head made it through the doorway first instead of your chest, you have some degree of forward head posture. 

How forward head posture destroys your neck and back 

FHP is a big deal because every inch our head moves forward adds another 10 pounds to the weight already supported by our neck muscles. Having a 2 inch forward head posture is as bad as lugging around a 20 pound dumbbell strapped to our neck all day! 

I’m sure you can imagine the trouble that can cause over time. When your head is tilted forward most of the muscles in your neck are shortened while many of the muscles in your upper back are stretched taut.  

Holding this unnatural position for long periods of time weakens the neck muscles and causes severe strain on the upper back muscles. This lack of balance between the tautness of your upper back and neck muscles are called muscle imbalances. 

These muscle imbalances pull on your bones abnormally. This added stress on the discs and joints throughout your neck and upper back cause the joints to become painfully inflamed and may lead to herniated discs which can pinch nerves. Left uncorrected, permanent injury can result as vertebrae fuse together under the strain. 

Tightened muscles and pinched nerves caused by muscular imbalances also hinders normal blood flow. This prevents the body from effectively flushing toxins away from that area of the body which can bring on even more issues. 

All told, forward head posture can be directly responsible for a dizzying array of ailments with symptoms including: 

·         Tension-type headaches 

·         Temperomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction 

·         Knots in the back of the neck 

·         Rocks in the shoulders 

·         Sore chest muscles 

·         Facial pain like trigeminal neuralgia 

·         Numbness or tingling in the arms and/or hands 

·         Chronic "achy" feeling all over 

·         General irritability 

·         Poor sleep 

What you can do about forward head posture 

First, it’s important to understand that forward head posture almost always results from the way we hold our head during hour after hour of normal daily activities. Driving with the head more than a couple inches off the headrest, working at the computer, watching television, carrying heavy items over one shoulder, looking down while reading, and playing video games are all common activities that may lead to FHP.  

Being aware of the position of our head over our neck allows us to start the process of correction. Simple steps taken to improve our posture during daily activities can go a long way towards eliminating forward head posture. Here are a few examples: 

·         When using the computer or playing video games, place the monitor or television so that the top third is even with your eyes. An optimal distance for screen placement is 18-24 inches from your face. 

·         Use a back support pillow when sitting or driving for long periods to prevent slouching. Take frequent breaks. Consider using a BackJoy to automatically ensure proper spinal alignment and better comfort while sitting. 

·         Carry backpacks with the weight evenly distributed over both shoulders and use the waist and chest belts. When carrying a heavy purse or duffel bag sling it diagonally across the torso. 

While steps like those offered above can make a difference, muscle imbalances usually require specific exercises to completely restore normal posture and function. Forward head posture is just one type of muscle imbalance and many people have multiple muscle imbalances at any given time. We recommend Muscle Balance Therapy for anyone experiencing any type of back or neck pain. Muscle Balance Therapy enables you to accurately identify your specific muscle imbalances and provides specific targeted exercises to correct them.