new back tips – fixing forward head posture

While the positioning of your head and shoulders forward due to everything you do in front of your body all day, may have initiated your forward head posture… reversing it, and getting your head and shoulders back over your body, will take more than focusing on just your neck.

Once your head and shoulders start landing forward in front of your upper body, the middle back starts to get rounded, or “hunched“… and the lower back (when standing) begins to overextend or “sway“ backward… and ironically, the lower back (when sitting) starts to over flex or “round“ forward, so your upper body looks like one big “C” curve. Whether sitting or standing, these problems leave you suffering with ugly, eventually painful, forward head posture

These postural changes are all about the natural compensation your body makes through the coupling patterns of joints in your spine and extremities in order to negotiate gravity… That is, to keep your upper body balanced over your hips when sitting, and over your feet when standing. Simply spoken, these compensations keep your body from tipping over.

Resolving this all too common deviation from ideal or “orthopedic normal” head posture, will take some attention to following:

1. Core stabilization of your lower back (the foundation on which all good posture is built); 
2. Increased extension (that is, backward movement) of your middle back (to replace the overstressed lower back in doing the heavy lifting of bringing your trunk upright); 
3. Retraction of your shoulders (because your neck can never move further back than the shoulders); and finally, 
4. The “Bobblehead-like” movement required to draw your head and neck back over your body (where they are supported by bone structure, rather than those non-postural muscles leading to the shoulder blades that were never designed to keep your head from hitting the ground).

To be clear, this transition will take vision, humility, patience, and perseverance. It’s mostly about raising your consciousness, and responding to poor posturing by correcting it… dozens and dozens of times every day, until it becomes a subconscious habit.

There are a few stretches and exercises that will be essential to facilitate this life enhancing change in body alignment… we will outline the most important ones in this video and point you to other short videos we have for you to fill in some of the logistical details. There will always be other stretches and exercises you can do, and other devices you can purchase, but we will keep it “top line” and target the most critical and effective tools needed to resolve forward head posture. Be sure to consult with your chiropractor or orthopedist for clearance before performing any new stretches or exercise.

First, you must become an expert at engaging your core to stabilize your lumbar spine. Take a look at our video on “core engagement“ (https://youtu.be/ATvXPzaU4nY) to begin that process. While core is made up of about 35 muscles forming a cylinder between your ribs and pelvis, you can focus on squeezing your abs like someone is going to hit you in the tummy. This is your primary tool for stabilizing your lower back in an alignment that makes it possible to get your head and shoulders back over your body.

For most, the hardest work in this process of reversing forward head posture is getting the middle back extending more upright again. Go to our 2 videos, including “the middle back linchpin“ (https://youtu.be/J6Fx3kf2VCQ) and the “thoracic foam roll“ (https://youtu.be/d2PxUbjObMA) for help. Most people use their middle back like a bridge between two moving parts, the neck and the lower back. However, if your middle back does not move and specifically, if it does not extend upright well, you will progressively suffer the effects of forward head posture… including osteoarthritis of your back and neck, and a very high tendency for sprains/strains and even disc related spinal injuries. 

Once your lower back is stabilized, using your core, and your middle back is extending more upright, your next goal is to get your shoulders back in line with your trunk. Go to our videos on “shoulder and head retraction“ (https://youtu.be/63SW1Zcu9Vc) and “the posture reset“ (https://youtu.be/RBMgw-oOy-Q) for help. These videos will also help you with your ultimate goal of bringing your head and neck back over your body.

Another simple tool helpful for getting your shoulders back out of the way of your head and neck, is to stretch your pectoral muscles since they tend to get shortened, pulling your shoulders further forward with the endless activity in front of your body. To stretch your pectoral muscles, take care of one side at a time by forming a 90° angle between your arm and your trunk, and your arm and your forearm. Place your hand and forearm on the wall, ideally of a doorjamb and bring your foot on that side of your body forward. Lean in, slow and easy until you feel a stretch of your chest muscles on that side. Now lean away from the doorjamb and open up your pectoral muscles wide… hold that stretch when you feel a reasonable discomfort until it begins to become more comfortable, within 20–30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Again, once the shoulders are out of the way, you can draw your head and neck back over your body. The “posture reset“ is your “go to” correction move to perform throughout the day… dozens and dozens of times for posture correction.

That’s it! You now have the basic tools to resolve your forward head posture. As I mentioned at the outset, patience and perseverance get it done. The ultimate pay off for you will be a more comfortable and physically confident life, as you resolve this all too common, computer-age condition. 

Remember, when your alignment is less than perfect and/or you have suffered recent injury, joints get stuck, soft tissues have memory for what doesn’t work, and we can help. 

Contact us at New Back Chiropractic today. We can help you move better to feel better for life.

At New Back Chiropractic on the edge of Costa Mesa in Santa Ana California, we are committed to helping you get fast and lasting relief from your back pain and neck pain. We help you move better to feel better for life.

Dr. Jim Hall has served as a highly trained chiropractor in Orange County California for 30 years helping people like you get lasting relief from back pain and neck pain. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Hall to start moving better and feeling better today!