Forward Head Posture Syndrome, also known as “forward-head carriage”, is also known. It is a condition in which the cervical spine moves into an anterior position. This condition is more common today because of our modern lifestyle. It affects 90% of the population. Workers are often seen hunched over their computers all day, while children are seen lugging heavy backpacks to school and playing video games. This can lead to nerve, meningeal, and disc compression, as well as poor health.
Proper Posture
Imagine a person standing straight from one side. The imaginary center of gravity would run just in front the ear hole, through the bump at the top-middle and shoulder. Normaly, the center gravity of the head lies slightly forward of this line. This allows for a slight muscle tone to keep the head moving forward. This tone prevents sudden, uncontrolled movements of your head like lilting.
Between the top of your neck and the base of your head, there is a group of nerves called the suboccipital nerve bundle. It runs alongside the meningeal sheath, which covers the brain. This sheath could be the source of your headache.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors will consider the joints, muscles, and ligaments when addressing Forward Head Posture Syndrome. Chiropractors can correct the root cause of headaches, rather than focusing on the symptoms. A chiropractor can treat Forward Head Posture Syndrome by relieving muscle and ligament tension and restoring the correct C-shaped curve of your neck. Forward head posture can develop slowly over time. Therefore, pressure techniques are often combined with chiropractic adjustments and muscle rehab.
An alternative approach is to increase flexibility in the muscles of your front neck. The forward head posture will be eliminated. The chiropractor will then give lifestyle advices and a simple home program to prevent it from happening again. After the forward posture has been corrected, any other symptoms such as neck pain or shoulder tension can be eliminated. If you want to get rid of your headaches due to forward head posture, you need to do your part.
Prevention
To prevent your pain from returning, you should always follow the advice of your chiropractor. You should stretch at least once a day if you are seated at a desk all day. You should always maintain a good posture. This means that you should be sitting straight up with your head in a straight position. If you have children, limit the backpack’s weight to 15% of your child’s body weight.