Forward Head

 

For every inch of forward head posture, the weight of the head increases on the spine by an additional 10 lbs.

This may not sound like much but an extra 10 lbs sitting on top of your neck is very serious. It will make the muscles on the back and sides of your neck, front of your throat, shoulders & upper back very tight and hard. Forward head is also a symptom of misalignment lower in your body.

Keep in mind that just pulling your head backward, if it is forward, would be a very bad idea since this will further tighten these areas that are already a problem and make things worse in the long run. Upper body strengthening, such as lifting weights or using resistance bands, should be suspended if you are actively working on healing this area. Once it's free and your symptoms are completely gone we can make a plan for reintroducing these activities in an appropriate way.  

Extreme tension in your neck, shoulders and upper back can lead to headaches, migraines, vertigo, nausea, vertebral issues that might lead you to a cervical fusion, numbness or pain down the shoulders, arms or hands, herniated discs, vision issues, ear trouble, TMJ, rotator cuff tears, strokes, and more. It is a very important area to free up and return to it's natural, springy state of ease.

Take the Forward Head Challenge: Hold a necklace on the front of your chin and notice where the bottom of the chain or pendant touches your sternum while your head is in a neutral position. If it doesn't touch anything and just swings in the air out in front of you, you have a serious case of forward head. Ideally the bottom of the necklace would touch the middle of your sternum if your head were balanced right above your shoulders nicely.