FORWARD HEAD CARRIAGE
This is a condition in which the head is sticking out forward more than it should be. It may develop from a sudden impact like whiplash from a car accident or a fall that jerks the neck violently, changing the spine permanently. Inventions to increase productivity or enjoy recreation time have also negatively affected this region.
With TV, computers, smart phones, computer games and driving, many people hold their heads too far forward. Another culprit would be sleeping on your back with too many pillows under your head. It forces your chin forward, tips your head down and reverses the neck curve, leading to forward head carriage.
Over time, the head and neck will actually permanently move to that position. This will change the amount of stress placed on the neck bones and the discs when we use our necks. Altered mechanics and movement, such as forward head carriage, may lead to long-term muscle strain, early arthritis of the joint space, or cause serious injury to the discs and nerves.
For every inch your head is forward in relation to your shoulders, it causes a compressive force to the neck that is increased by the additional weight of your head. So if your head is forward just one inch, the resulting stress would be twice the weight of the head on your neck. That can spell trouble not to mention pain.
With two inches of forward head carriage you would have to endure two times the weight of your head, plus the weight of the head that a normal neck would support. That is a total of three times the weight of the head on the neck. Now you can see how important it is to have your head in a proper position in relation to your overall posture and body’s mechanics. So please, no more leaning forward when you work at a computer.
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