Connected Chiropractic Improves Forward Head Posture with Elgin Chiropractic Care and Exercise
Connected Chiropractic speculates that you are feeling at least one of these things right now: tight jaw, stiff shoulders creeping up to your ears, chin tilting down, head jutting forward on your neck. And if you are on your cellphone reading this, you are likely doing all of these at once! Forward head carriage or forward head posture (that Wikipedia (1) calls “Justin Bieber Head” and "iHunch"!) is well-known to most of us. Cell phone use, improper computer screen set-up, and stress may all play a part. This posture causes our 10 pound heads to stick out and off of our necks. Not a pretty sight or healthy situation! Connected Chiropractic helps!
FORWARD HEAD CARRIAGE / FORWARD NECK POSTURE EXPLAINED
What is it? Forward head carriage occurs when your neck juts forward over your first spinal vertebra, C1 (cervical vertebra 1). Each inch forward boosts the weight on your neck by 10 pounds. (2) That adds up! What results? Neck pain. Shoulder stiffness. Pain between the shoulders. Fatigue. Headache. Arm pain. Jaw pain. Do you feel it?
FORWARD HEAD CARRIAGE / FORWARD NECK POSTURE HELPED
What helps? It may seem that since it’s a neck issue treating the neck and directing care to the neck itself only would have the greatest impact toward fixing the issue and any related pain. A group of researchers demonstrated that this is not necessarily the case. They evaluated the results of neck mobilization treatment (plus stabilization exercise) to thoracic spine (upper back) mobilization treatment (plus stabilization exercise. They discovered that using thoracic spine mobilization treatment plus stabilization exercise delivered better results. Pain, disability, and global rating of change by patients all improved along with their craniovertebral angle when standing as well as their cervical extension posture. (3) Connected Chiropractic uses Cox® Technic, a comfortable stretching treatment for the neck and thoracic spine that is quite effective for spinal conditions like this. Connected Chiropractic makes certain that our Elgin chiropractic patients with forward head posture get their thoracic spines treated! Connected Chiropractic also encourages our Elgin chiropractic care patients with forward head carriage to do their share, too, by performing the stabilization and other recommended exercises!
SIMPLE TIPS FOR FORWARD NECK POSTURE CORRECTION
A few simple things help a lot. Align your computer screen level with your eye level. Stretch frequently while participating in sedentary work (computer, desk, TV). Intentionally correct your standing posture so you are straight. Lean against a wall with your shoulders, head, hips all touching the wall. Listen and vigilantly perform any neck strengthening exercises your Elgin chiropractor recommends. Connected Chiropractic will keep the exercises simple so our Elgin chiropractic patients will do them!
CONTACT Connected Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST of a neck and arm pain patient relieved with cervical spine Cox® Technic treatment!
Schedule a Elgin chiropractic visit at Connected Chiropractic for your forward head carriage or forward head posture. Connected Chiropractic bets that you have already helped yourself after reading this article! Connected Chiropractic bets that you stretched your head up, relaxed your shoulders down, and tucked your chin back as soon as you read the first paragraph. The first step of change is recognizing that it is needed!
