We all know that posture is important, but lots of people don’t know why, or how easy it is to fix. I’m sure you’ve found yourself at various times slumped over but straightening up is difficult and/or uncomfortable. The fact is that we can suffer from a range of postural issues, each with their own causes and fixes, so I’ll be writing a series of blogs over the next little while to address some of the common problems.
A familiar position for many and a classic example of ‘text neck’.
Let’s start with ‘text neck’. Mostly because it’s a popular name at the moment for a problem that is quite widespread. Phones get most of the blame for the way our heads sit so far forward on our neck, and that has led to the term ‘text neck’. This problem has, in fact, been around a lot longer than the iPhone and has more official names like ‘anterior head carriage’ and ‘proximal crossed syndrome’. These names all describe the same problem of the head sitting forwards, and the last name also describes the usually concurrent problem of shoulders slumping forwards.
The basic problem is excessive curving in the thoracic spine pushing the base of the head forwards and exacerbated by a lack of curve in the neck which fails to pull the head back into the upright position. Because our body will always do whatever it can to keep our eyes level with the horizon, it puts unnecessary strain on the muscles at the back of the neck to hold the head up. Poor posture aside, this can lead to reduced neck movement, headaches, neck pain and even shoulder problems.
So what to do? The easiest thing for you to do right now is called Brugger’s relief position. It’s a position in which you stand with your arms by your side with your palms facing forwards, squeeze your shoulder blades back and down (as though your pulling the bottom corner of your shoulder blades together), and gently tuck your chin into your neck. Simply hold this position for 10-20 seconds and take some deep breaths focusing on standing nice and tall. The best tip with this is to avoid squeezing your chin or shoulders too tight. You want this to be a nice relaxing exercise that generates a mild stretch without any pain.
Chiropractic is a powerful way to address postural concerns. I use a technique called Advanced BioStructural Correction (ABC) that can address issues like your head and/or shoulders sitting further forwards than they should. ABC achieves that through encouraging the spine to ‘stack up’ on itself more effectively, which means your muscles don’t need to spend as much energy on keeping you upright. Exercises and habits are very important in training the muscles to assist at the right time and in the right way, but if the underlying structure is dysfunctional, then posture will always be a battle.
Dr Michael Osborne – Chiropractor
B.H.Sc (Chiro), M.Clin.Chiro.
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