Like little baby Jesus, most neck pain seems to come out of nowhere. Its not like you were in a car accident or fell out of bed and there is no outwardly obvious reason for why your neck hurts. Most people do notice some patterns of their neck pain, like it hurts more when I do the dishes, or when you sit at your job. As a Denver chiropractor, most of the new patients that I see have this fluctuating neck pain that is usually caused by forward head posture. Understanding where this pain comes from is half the battle to ridding it. So, I listed the top 5 causes of forward head posture that causes neck pain.

1. iPosture or Text Neck. This is becoming epidemic as more and more people use cell phones. Take a look at person that is using their phone. The head is usually bent forward to at least 50-70 degrees which slowly pulls on all of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, joints, and fascia. This slow pull on the back of neck essentially overstretches this part of the body. This creates an imbalance of stretched tissue.

2. Computer Posture. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, you end up slouched with your head sticking out by the end of the day. It’s almost impossible to escape without someone repeatedly telling you to sit up straight. Computer posture is often the result of poor ergonomics.

3. Pillow Neck. The way you sleep is another source of forward head posture. If you ever sleep on your back while using a pillow, you are slowly creating a forward head posture.

4. Reading Neck or Scholars Neck. Sit in your favorite chair and enjoy your latest murder mystery and soon before you know, you’ve been there for over an hour with head pointing down. Looking downward for a prolonged period doing your desk work or reading will create forward head posture. Some people like to read while lying down in bed which will also slowly give you forward head posture.

5. Couch slouch or Potato Neck. You ever watch a movie while lying down with your head on the arm rest of the couch. Guilty! Everyone does it, but if you do it on a regular basis it slowly juts your head out and then you look like one of the character in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Sitting in your favorite position in the couch that gives your spine banana back will also give you forward posture.

The imbalance of overusing certain muscles and under using certain muscles in combination with only stretching one side of the neck will cause forward head carriage. This is easy to spot as your head will not be above your shoulders, and will be forward compared to your torso. Over time this will create a major malfunction of the system, creating pain, stiffness, kinked necks, headaches, and sore shoulders.

Chiropractic care is an excellent option for treating a forward head posture. As chiropractic adjustments and the other therapies we offer will help restore the natural alignment of your neck. Of course you need to identify the root cause, but putting out the fire while improving your awareness of your posture is necessary. At Denver Chiropractic, LLC we offer a wide variety of treatment options to help decrease your neck pain.

Dr. Trent Artichoker

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225