Tips for forward head posture correction
We all live in a flexor dominate world. This meaning most of our daily activities ritually involve us in slouching positions and leaning forward. How many hours do you personally spend sitting at a computer, sitting at a desk, slouching on your couch and sitting in your car? This makes up the majority of a typical day for the average human, especially in Kirkland and Belleuve areas due to the over-abundance of tech jobs which require long hours sitting at a computer.
Forward head posture if often caused by a very common muscle imbalance known as upper crossed syndrome (UCS). UCS is defined as weakening and lengthening of the upper-back and neck muscles, and also tightening and shortening of the anterior muscles in the neck and chest. This is the most common muscle imbalance acquired from slouching at a desk or computer. Our upper back and posterior shoulder muscles get weakened and the muscle fibers become elongated while our anterior muscles such as our chest and anterior deltoids get tightened and shortened. This creates major muscle imbalance which causes one’s neck to be held anteriorly and their shoulders to round forward. Over time, if forward head posture becomes advanced enough, the upper back will develop of hump or curve. This postural imbalance is destructive to our spine, our intervertebral discs and our spinal cords.
Remember being scolded by your mother or grandmother about slouching? They fact of the matter is, they were right for yelling at us about having poor posture. Slouching and sitting at desks causes UCS which almost always leads to forward head posture.
At PrimeSpine we spend most of our days helping others correct their forward head posture. Also, we work directly with a personal trainers who helps our patients correct their UCS and forward head posture. Contact us today for a referral to a personal trainer.