With school around the corner, one of the more troublesome problems I see in my Newmarket chiropractic office is forward head posture (FHP) – especially in school-aged children. The main cause: sitting, backpacks, trauma, computers/smartphones/TVs, and not enough movement (other causes in the older population that require further investigation are arthritis and osteoporosis). I know that our lifestyle now includes all of these things that are not going away any time soon; however, I believe if there is a little bit of effort exerted, you can correct/reduce your or your children’s forward head posture.
FHP is a bad postural pattern that not only gives you that “old” unsightly posture but it can also create long-term problems – some of the most common ones I see in my office are – headaches, neck, mid-back, and low back pain, tingling in the hands and fingers, shoulder pain, dizziness, TMJ (jaw joint), carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, pinched nerves and even concentration problems and low self-esteem.
Some of the most frustrating things I hear regarding FHP are:
The most important components of forward head posture that need to be addressed are the nerves, muscles, and ligaments. Each of these tissues need to be very specifically addressed in order to correct the problem. Most people are unsuccessful in correcting their FHP and subsequent problems because they usually only address one of these tissues and they have no objective measurement to compare where they started to where they end up. Click here for a video describing FHP and the way to properly diagnose it.
Combining specific adjustments directed at correcting the neurology (nerves) with appropriate muscle activation (e.g. head weights) in conjunction with a precise ligament stretch (Dennerol), correcting FHP is possible. The good news? It only takes minutes a day to accomplish this.
In summary, find the cause of your FHP and get an objective measurement of its severity. Then target the specific tissues that require rehabilitation and get to work.
Be well,