One of the interesting parts of practicing Chiropractic over the past 30 years is the opportunity to look at so many X-rays. When looking at the X-rays of the neck, the prevailing theme due to today’s societal norms is the complete loss of the normal cervical curve. This is called a “military neck” or cervical hyperlordosis. This leads to the head protruding out in front of the body (forward head carriage).
Forward head carriage creates an incredible amount of strain on the muscles or the neck and upper back. In addition, forward head carriage accelerates the rate of degeneration of the cervical spine (arthritis). Where does this come from? Well, the fact that we spend so much time looking down at computer screens and text messaging leads to “Tech neck”!
For every one inch your head moves out in front of your body it increases your perceived head weight by 15 pounds and it increases the amount of muscular effort by 10-fold. Try holding a bowling ball in front of you with your arm extended straight out if you want an analogy (feel the burn)! In addition, your brain is approximately 2 pounds and usually less than 2% of your body weight, yet it requires 25% of your overall blood supply. When your head is out in front of your body, a significant portion of the blood and oxygen that should be going to the brain ends up going to the large muscles of the neck which are working overtime to hold up your huge noggin! Therefore, diminished cognition.
There is a solution to this problem. It involves restoration of the normal curve and strengthening of the cervical core musculature. This is a significant modern societal problem.
Get into our office today for an analysis of your cervical spine and X-rays which will show us whether or not you suffer from this societal affliction. We can do something about it in a relatively short period of time.