Forward head posture is one of the most common improper postures and is reaching epidemic proportions.
This very common, yet potentially devastating posture arises from many sources: a history of whiplash or other neck injury, birth trauma, improper backpack use, foot pronation, improper pillow use, overuse of computers, texting on smart phones and excessive video gaming.
Scientists know that forward head posture, where the ear is positioned in front of the shoulder when viewed from the side, can exert a dangerous amount of stress on the spinal cord and nerves. In fact, forward head posture is a leading cause of many ailments in the body such as neck pain, headaches, fatigue, loss of flexibility, high blood pressure and even low back pain. Left uncorrected for many years, the subluxations resulting from forward head posture become more and more difficult to correct and may lead to spinal arthritis and premature degeneration of the neck bones and joints.
The best strategy to prevent forward head posture is getting your family to a chiropractor for a complete postural examination, and, if necessary, x-rays to better understand if their posture is causing subluxations or misalignments in the spine.
With proper ongoing corrective and maintenance chiropractic care together with stretches and specific exercises, forward head posture may be reversed and eliminated in many cases.
References:
1. Chiropractic
