Take a good look and you are bound to notice that there are a great many people walking around with their heads jutting in front of their body and their shoulders rolled forward. While this is becoming a more prevalent occurrence in a larger portion of the population, let me assure you that this is by no means normal. Just because something is common does not make it normal. We are designed to be upright with our heads over our bodies, and our shoulders back in order to maintain a center of gravity that is effortless, putting little to no excess stress on the body.
Make no mistake, there is a direct connection between this undesirable posture and our current technology. Never in the course of human history have people been more sedentary with their heads looking down in a flexed position. Think about it. When you look at your phone, do you look down with your chin close to your chest? If you use a laptop you are forced to adopt the same posture. Tonight when you are relaxing in your recliner watching tv, notice that you automatically tuck your chin to your chest as if you are looking down. The headrest in your car positions you in the same way.
It seems pretty clear that we as a society spend far more time with our necks in flexion (looking down) than in extension (looking up). The problem is that when we are finished looking down, we don’t have enough muscle tone to return to a correct, upright position. This results in a phenomenon called Tech Neck and is a major side effect of something called Upper Cross Syndrome, a condition where the flexors are tight and the extensors become weak, resulting in the deformity we see all around us today.
Due to the fact that we adopt this position day after day, week after week, year after year, our posture changes and adapts to accommodate. Where we began with balanced muscle tone and strength in both the front and rear, now we find ourselves in the position pictured above. It is imperative that we stretch the tight muscle groups that are folding us forward while simultaneously strengthening the posterior musculature that is designed to keep us upright.
Efforts on the part of YOU, the patient, are imperative if you wish to at the very least stop the progression, if not correct the problem. Restoring the curvature of the cervical spine has a tremendous impact on virtually every aspect of health, vitality, and the way you feel overall.
An article, written a few months ago by Dr. Cenk, entitled, “Bloggin’ About Our Huge Noggin” further addresses the long-term ramifications of Tech Neck and Forward Head Carriage.