human head weighs around 10-11 pounds on average. When you have correct posture, your head doesn’t feel like it weighs much at all because it is perfectly balanced and positioned. When Forward Head Posture begins to develop and your head begins to move forward away from its ideal postural position, the weight of your head begins to increase. For every inch the head moves forward of the shoulders, the weight of the head doubles due to the effects of gravity. This means that there are some individuals are walking around with a head that weighs between 50 to 75 lbs.! Long term Forward Head Posture (FHP) can cause all sorts of problem such as migraines and headaches, neck and shoulder pain, TMJ dysfunction, lower/middle/upper back pain, disc degeneration and numbness or tingling in the arms and/or hands.
Some causes of the Forward Head Posture are:
Backpacks: Children are now using backpacks to carry school books weighing up to an alarming 30-40 lbs.! This forces the head forward to counter-balance the weight resulting in abnormal stress to the discs, joints and nerves of the neck, shoulders and lower back.
Computer Ergonomics: Positioning computer screens too low, coupled with the repetitive motion of moving the head forward to read the screen is a primary factor in FHP.
Video games/TV: Most kids use poor posture when playing video games and watching TV. Repetitively sitting in one position for long periods of time causes the body to adapt to this bad posture.
Trauma: Falls and trauma can cause whiplash resulting in muscle imbalance. This pulls the spine out of alignment forcing the head forward.
Monitoring good posture is essential for optimum health. Dr. Chait has been helping people correct and/or prevent Forward Head Posture for almost 30 years here in Sarasota. With a personalized treatment plan you can be assured a future of doing things you love to do rather than suffering from damage and degeneration that poor posture can cause. Call Chait Chiropractic Center at 941-371-1070 to schedule a complimentary posture analysis today