Do You Have Forward Head Posture ?

29 Aug Do You Have Forward Head Posture ?

RainTown Rolfing

Forward Head Posture or FHP is a condition where the position of your head moves forward from the center of the shoulders. As the head moves forward, your center of gravity shifts and creates a domino effect of problems. To compensate for the shift in your center of gravity, your upper body will drift backward. To compensate for your upper body shift, your hips tilt forward. All this shifting of the body causes strains, stress and ultimately pain for numerous parts of your body. Forward Head Posture can cause serious health problems if left untreated. With a session at Raintown Rolfing, I can treat Forward Head Posture safely and effectively with care and guidance.

The Weight of Your Head Increases Dramatically with FHP

A human heads weighs between 8 and 10 pounds on average. With correct posture, your head doesn’t feel like it weighs much at all because it is perfectly balanced and positioned. When Forward Head Posture begins to develop and your head begins to move forward away from its balanced position, the weight of your head begins to increase. In fact, for every 1 inch your head moves forward, the relative weight of the head over the body doubles due to the effects of gravity.

Forward Head Posture Causes All Types of Pain and Health Problems

As the head moves forward and shifts your center of gravity, it places a great deal of stress on many parts of your body including, but not limited to, your head, neck, shoulders and back. The stress will manifest into discomfort and pain.  The following lists some common health conditions that can be associated with Forward Head Posture:

• Headaches and Migranes
• TMJ Pain
• Neck Pain
• Myofascial Pain Syndrome
• Shoulder Pain
• Upper Back Pain
• Middle Back Pain
• Lower Back Pain
• Sore Chest Muscles
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Poor Sleep or Insomnia
• Chronic “achy” feeling all over
• Fibromyalgia
• Disc degeneration
• Numbness or Tingling in hands and or arms
• Trigeminal neuralgia (facial pain)

In addition to the above, Forward Head Posture can reduce lung capacity and blood flow as well as impact your gastrointestinal system. Persistent Forward Head Posture can lead to spinal degeneration and a condition called Kyphosis or Dowager’s Hump. Three separate studies have linked Kyphosis to early degeneration of the nervous system, organ disease, and even premature death.

Do You Carry a Purse, a Back Pack or Spend Considerable Time Driving or Working at a Computer?

Remember when your parents or teacher told you not to “slouch” and “sit up straight”.  They weren’t trying to be annoying. They were trying to teach you good posture, help prevent bad posture and Forward Head Posture from developing. We need to be aware of our posture at all times and practice good posture techniques in our daily lives. The following are common activities that can contribute to Forward Head Posture:

1. Looking down while typing on a keyboard and viewing a computer screen

2. Slouching or improperly sitting with shoulders rounded and backed hunched

3. Carrying a heavy purse or back pack over one shoulder

4. Driving with your head more than 3 inches away from the headrest of the seat

Addressing The Problem of Forward Head Posture

Texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time could lead to lower life expectancy, according to the United Chiropractic Association (UCA).

Forward-leaning posture increases the risk of an early death in elderly people and there are fears that younger people might be knocking time off their lives by using this posture when they text, go online, send emails or play games on phones and other mobile devices.

The UCA, which has around 600 members across the UK, says that poor posture is as big a health risk as obesity and is highlighting the dangers as part of its Spinal Awareness Week on 12-16 May.

Studies suggest a link between forward-leaning posture in older people and hyperkyphosis, which is associated with pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems.

The UCA points out that elderly people with even a small degree of hyperkyphosis have a 1.44 times greater risk of mortality than those without. This is a similar figure to increased risk of death presented by a body mass index greater than 30.

UCA executive member Estelle Zauner-Maughan, explained why using mobile devices could prove such a risk: “We tend to drop our heads forward which rounds the shoulders and this is what we term forward-leaning posture.

“People are now definitely at an increased risk of having problems through the top of their neck and back because of their posture, which is causing a change in the curve of the back. And there is an increased risk that they will develop this earlier on in life because of the length of time they’ve been sitting at computers or using mobile devices.”

Estelle added: “The problem is that when someone drops their head forward and rounds their shoulders, it becomes impossible for them to take a full breath in because of the restriction through the muscles and because the ribs can’t move properly. So the heart and lungs can’t function to their full effectiveness. Research is suggesting that the decrease in life expectancy comes from this.”

UCA chiropractor Edwina Waddell has noticed forward-leaning posture becoming more of an issue at her practice in Putney: “It’s something I notice every day and use of mobile devices is a factor,” said Edwina. “So many of us have structured our lives in a way that means we use computers, mobile phones, tablets and laptops at work and in our leisure time as well.

“Posture has been an overlooked factor in our health but research is helping us to raise awareness of it and people are now beginning to realize that good posture is more than about how it makes you look; it’s important for your health on a day to day basis and it can be important in terms of your life expectancy”

“This isn’t alarmist or scaremongering; it’s what more and more research is telling us. And the good news is that it doesn’t have to happen because it’s something we all have a degree of control over. We can change our habits. For example, restrict the amount of time you spend on mobile devices. And bring them up to your eye level, so that you’re not looking down.”

The UCA is urging people to have their posture checked by a professional body worker and to take steps to safeguard their posture and health: Edwina said: “A lot of people might not even realize anything is wrong with their posture. A check-up enables potential problems to be corrected before aches and pains begin and before risks are allowed to develop further.”