Forward head posture

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ninerbuff
ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I do several "assessments" a week on people and the biggest trends I'm noticing (along with so many being overweight) is FORWARD HEAD POSTURE. It's a rounding of shoulders and the head protruding forward and for some causing neck pain and possible headaches. A lot of it is contributed to work on computers all day, bad posture (especially when sitting) and no develoment of muscular strength on your "rears" (rear delts, trapezius, rhomboids, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor). If not paid attention to, as you age, it can get worse and end up becoming onset kyphosis.

So make sure to include exercises to hit these muscles at least once a week to keep them from atrophying and becoming weak.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Replies

  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    Yep almost 40 years at a job with extensive computer use, 6 shoulder operations (along with 2 thumb joint replacements).

    I asked orthopedic surgeon if lifting was an issue, he said, nope the computer work was root cause. Therapist suggested 2 horizontal pull moves for 1 horizontal press.
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,347 Member
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    My chiropractor is always warning about this very thing.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    Seems like we see it here often, too, in the "how do I get rid of my belly fat" photos, where the head-forward posture is contributing to making the abdominal area appear more prominent than it would with better posture. (Often there's some anterior pelvic tilt contributing, too, maybe especially among young women on account of the "emphasize the booty" tendency.)

    I'm *not* suggesting the abdominal appearance effect is as important as the neck/back pain & headaches!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    As always @ninerbuff a good reminder of the basics. Thank you.

    Oddly, since childhood, I have been admired/teased about my posture. I’m quite upright and have never figured out how to slouch- much to my SO’s consternation. Car seat for me- upright; him, raked as far as it will go.

    Now I am older and watching my MIL’s shoulders and back round, and head move forward I am very conscious of taking preventative action.

    Some moves/lifts I enjoy (did I really say that!) which work well for me are.....
    Lat pulldown. Gosh when I discovered that I thought I’d found a friend. (No desire at this time to do pull up things)

    Bench press, sometimes, especially now, it has been a floor version.

    An upright row, or seated row. (Concept 2 for a gentle stretch, I’m not a rower)

    Overhead press or, oh my, a nice Arnold press (another move I was so happy to discover)

    And yoga.

    All this is just the things that work well for me. I lift but am a 2-3 in the bag type woman and am quite happy down grading when needs must. Just need to keep everything creaking along.

    @ninerbuff could you maybe give some guidance on appropriate target exercises for a variety of fitness levels, please and thank you.

    Cheers, h.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,115 Member
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    My boyfriend, who works in IT, has this issue. He is also quite tall, which I presume doesn't help. His grandfather had this issue very severely in old age.

    BF has been doing strength training (including pull-ups, cable rows and face pulls) for about a year now, but I don't really see much progress. And he gets annoyed when I correct his posture 😛 'it's not bad posture, I'm built like this'
    Sigh...
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited August 2021
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    Rowing machine work helps a lot with this. I had a pretty bad auto accident at 21 years of age (35 years ago). For decades, my neck hurt like crazy when I would drive long distances. I also have worked a desk job since I was around 32. The rowing machine has immensely helped my posture and my neck pain.

    A great ergonomic chair and a continual focus on sitting up straight and not leaning into the computer screen also helps. Making sure your screen is an arm's length away always helps.

    My wife suffers a lot more from this than I do. She constantly looks down at her cell phone and spent years in the dental field (as an assistant). I see it in younger people all the time. Sad to see such horrid posture in young folks from cell phones.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Rowing machine work helps a lot with this. I had a pretty bad auto accident at 21 years of age (35 years ago). For decades, my neck hurt like crazy when I would drive long distances. I also have worked a desk job since I was around 32. The rowing machine has immensely helped my posture and my neck pain.

    A great ergonomic chair and a continual focus on sitting up straight and not leaning into the computer screen also helps. Making sure your screen is an arm's length away always helps.

    My wife suffers a lot more from this than I do. She constantly looks down at her cell phone and spent years in the dental field (as an assistant). I see it in younger people all the time. Sad to see such horrid posture in young folks from cell phones.

    We live in an university town and my wife and I went walking on a multi-use trail that goes through campus yesterday. The kids start school today so they were out wandering around in groups. So many of them walked with the tops of their hands facing forward (dead giveaway for rounded shoulders/forward head posture).

    I got myself one of these to help with posture when not working in an office setting to me it helped "train" better posture. Personally a fan.


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  • kristingjertsen
    kristingjertsen Posts: 239 Member
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    After a shoulder surgery, I leaned to do the exercises to prevent another problem with posture. Even more important after I needed a cervical surgery. Thanks for the information. I still do my exercises daily and make sure I have good lumbar support if I am in a chair.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Rowing machine work helps a lot with this. I had a pretty bad auto accident at 21 years of age (35 years ago). For decades, my neck hurt like crazy when I would drive long distances. I also have worked a desk job since I was around 32. The rowing machine has immensely helped my posture and my neck pain.

    A great ergonomic chair and a continual focus on sitting up straight and not leaning into the computer screen also helps. Making sure your screen is an arm's length away always helps.

    My wife suffers a lot more from this than I do. She constantly looks down at her cell phone and spent years in the dental field (as an assistant). I see it in younger people all the time. Sad to see such horrid posture in young folks from cell phones.

    I also got improvements from rowing (machine/boat).

    I didn't have your (Mike's) unfortunate accident experience, but got some added forward-pull effect on posture from breast cancer treatment: The mastectomy+radiation combo caused upper chest/underarm scar tissue.

    In addition to proper monitor distance/height, getting computer glasses was a big help, to me. Bifocal lenses didn't really cut it (point of focus always a little high or low, so head tilt), but glasses that correct to exactly right for my monitor distance/height was almost magical.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited August 2021
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    I’m tall and have always had a rounded upper back and forward head position. Two things have helped me, first was pull-ups and similar shoulder work, but the one which surprised me was, I have recently taken up belly dancing. Doing chest isolation work caused me to realize how inflexible my upper back was. After a couple of months I am much more flexible, can expand my chest more, and have better posture. The basic posture for belly dancing is described as, “Pretend you have two pockets on your back, pull your shoulders back, and push them down into the pockets.”

    Since my mom, who is built like me, is starting to look like an old turtle sticking its head out of its shell, I am really hoping to avoid the same fate!
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    Nice discussion on rounded shoulders
    https://youtu.be/z0oIjg_JtHw
  • sheahughes
    sheahughes Posts: 133 Member
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    Especially important for those of us with existing kyphosis - that was not fun to discover when I believed I had injured myself as a cleaner at work. Nope, my vertebrae are just f*cked up right in the centre of my torso.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited August 2021
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Rowing machine work helps a lot with this. I had a pretty bad auto accident at 21 years of age (35 years ago). For decades, my neck hurt like crazy when I would drive long distances. I also have worked a desk job since I was around 32. The rowing machine has immensely helped my posture and my neck pain.

    A great ergonomic chair and a continual focus on sitting up straight and not leaning into the computer screen also helps. Making sure your screen is an arm's length away always helps.

    My wife suffers a lot more from this than I do. She constantly looks down at her cell phone and spent years in the dental field (as an assistant). I see it in younger people all the time. Sad to see such horrid posture in young folks from cell phones.

    I also got improvements from rowing (machine/boat).

    I didn't have your (Mike's) unfortunate accident experience, but got some added forward-pull effect on posture from breast cancer treatment: The mastectomy+radiation combo caused upper chest/underarm scar tissue.

    In addition to proper monitor distance/height, getting computer glasses was a big help, to me. Bifocal lenses didn't really cut it (point of focus always a little high or low, so head tilt), but glasses that correct to exactly right for my monitor distance/height was almost magical.

    I could see that. I have some computer glasses as well. It's pricy to have two sets of glasses, but I can't even hardly see the monitor with regular glasses. Great point.

    My wife, who I mentioned has bad posture at times, also has (if I can say this) a huge chest. I think part of her issues, growing up, was actually being self conscious about being so well endowed there. We have actually strongly considered breast reduction surgery for her. I think, for some women, it can be emotionally intimidating to stick out that chest and pull the shoulders back into proper posture form if they are self conscious.

    My daughter, who has the same issue as my wife, has no trouble flaunting her natural shape, but she has more self confidence in that aspect.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    bump
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,070 Member
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    When I injured both shoulders lifting, it was in large part because I was increasing weight faster than my joints could accommodate, but also because I was heavily emphasizing my mirror muscles (chest, front of shoulders, arms) over their counterparts (back of shoulders, back). What started as part of my therapy to recover from my injuries has translated into my regular lifting rotation: do 4 sets of pulling for every 3 sets of pushing.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    nossmf wrote: »
    When I injured both shoulders lifting, it was in large part because I was increasing weight faster than my joints could accommodate, but also because I was heavily emphasizing my mirror muscles (chest, front of shoulders, arms) over their counterparts (back of shoulders, back). What started as part of my therapy to recover from my injuries has translated into my regular lifting rotation: do 4 sets of pulling for every 3 sets of pushing.

    Not uncommon for many to forget their "rears" just because the "out of sight, out of mind" motto rings true. I've had lots of clients who regularly work out and don't hit their rears (traps, rear delts, mid back, lower back, hamstrings and calves) very hard or as hard as their fronts. Then it's corrective training for them.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • CassieBanks757
    CassieBanks757 Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks for this post and the video link! I'm 63 and have finally gotten to the place where I can focus on weight loss by adding exercise (CFS/Fibro for 27 years). As I started walking inside my house I noticed I looked like I had a hunched back. I'm going to try to do these exercises without the equipment and see if I still have enough mobility to straighten my posture out. :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    CassieBanks757 wrote: »
    Thanks for this post and the video link! I'm 63 and have finally gotten to the place where I can focus on weight loss by adding exercise (CFS/Fibro for 27 years). As I started walking inside my house I noticed I looked like I had a hunched back. I'm going to try to do these exercises without the equipment and see if I still have enough mobility to straighten my posture out. :)
    If any of my posts reach one person to help, then it's always worth the time to do it.
    Good luck.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

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