Forward head posture
Forward head posture (FHP) is the anterior positioning of the cervical spine. This posture is sometimes called "Text Neck", "Scholar's Neck", "Wearsie Neck", "iHunch" or "Reading Neck."
It is a posture problem that is caused by several factors including sleeping with the head elevated too high, extended use of computers and cellphones, lack of developed back muscle strength and lack of nutrients such as calcium.
Possible negative effects include tingling and numbness in the arms, headache or migraine, and a burning pain between the shoulder blades.
Treatment
Treatment involves correcting the muscle imbalance.
Stretching muscles that cause neck protrusion:
- Lower cervical flexors: sternocleidomastoid, anterior and middle scalene muscles.
- Upper cervical (capital) extensors: semispinalis capitis, longissimus capitis, splenius capitis, suboccipital muscles
Strengthening muscles that cause neck retraction:[1][2]
- Lower cervical extensors: splenius cervicis, semispinalis cervicis, longissimus cervicis
- Upper cervical (capital) flexors: longus capitis, Rectus capitis anterior, Suprahyoid muscles
FHP commonly appears as a part of the Upper Crossed Syndrome and Thoracic outlet syndrome. Treatment involves stretching muscles in the front of the torso such as the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor while also strengthening muscles in the back of the torso such as the rhomboids.
References
- ↑ Edmondston, SJ; Wallumrød, ME; Macléid, F; Kvamme, LS; Joebges, S; Brabham, GC (June 2008). "Reliability of isometric muscle endurance tests in subjects with postural neck pain". Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. 31 (5): 348–54. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.04.010. PMID 18558277.
- ↑ Leddy, Alyssa; Polishchuk, Kimberly. "Deep Neck Flexor Stabilisation Protocol". Physiopedia.
3. The Forward Head Posture Blog by Jivan Chakra Foundation