Chiropractic and Forward Head Posture

In our chiropractic clinics I see many patients each day who all seem to complain about a similar problem. They complain about upper back, neck and shoulder pain which radiates to the back of the head with headache. In addition, they speak of fatigue, limited concentration,  morning neck stiffness and even tingling in their arms and fingers.

On further questioning I find that are sitting at a desk for the greater part of the day at their computers. Often these computers are laptop models and their desks and workstations are not well designed. Even expensive ergonomic chairs and desks are not always the answer to their problems.

The muscles of the neck are intended to hold the head comfortably in place when the head is upright. Nature never intended the human frame to try to support it's head in a bent forward position for more than a few minutes at a time. When the head moves forward, the load on the muscles of the neck increases many times.

This causes strain of the neck and upper back muscles, which in turn gives rise to the symptoms described earlier. Nerve compression may occur causing frequent headaches, nausea, blurred vision and muscle weakness. It is this nerve compression that chiropractors are often sought out to corrrect. It is often termed spinal subluxation, or 'pinched nerves' by the layperson.

The vertebrae of the spine can become affected over a period of time with this continuous forward posture, which is also called a hyperkyphotic posture. While some people grow up with 'lazy posture', particularly if they are tall and lanky, just feel self-conscious or don't do any exercise, the computer age has definitely accelerated the problem into the domain of the everyday worker.

The problem can cause upper thoracic or 'dowagers' hump which used to be seen only on elderly ladies with osteoporosis but is now increasingly seen in younger people. For young ladies with larger chests, the problem is compounder. For that matter, even younger man carying excessvie weight seem to be equll prone. It is absolutely critical that this problem be addressed and the posture corrected so that long term damage and effects do not occur.

What are the long term effects? Osteoarthritis, sometimes called degenerative joint disease, is characterised by loss of movement, stiffness, soreness, referred pain at times and the chiropractic phenomena of spinal subluxation. I referred earlier to nerve compression than can occur. This often results in the nerves leading to the arms and hands being affected, with resultant pain, numbness, tingling or heaviness being felt. Missed diagnoses of rotator cuff and carpal tunnel syndrome are common when the spinal cause is overlooked.

Eye strain is a common experience when sitting at a computer. This is often thought to be an unavoidable part of computer work but it does not have to be. Focussing your eyes at the same distance point for extended periods of time causes fatigue. The human eye structurally prefers to look at objects further than six metres away, so any work performed close-up puts extra demands on the eye muscles.

The computer screen when lit up also contributes to fatigue of the eyes. While there is no actual evidence that eye fatigue is associated with damage to the eyesight, computer users may experience symptoms such as blurred vision, temporary inability to focus on distant objects and headaches.

Here are some suggestions to reduce the risk of eyestrain include the following tips:

-Make sure your primary light source such as a window is not shining into your face or directly onto the monitor.
-Tilt the monitor slightly to eliminate reflections or glare.
-Make sure your computer screen is not close to your face.
-Position the screen so that it is either at eye level or slightly lower.
-Reduce the contrast and brightness of the screen by adjusting the controls on the monitor.
-Frequently look away from the screen and focus on faraway objects.
- Have regular eye examinations to check that blurring headaches and other associated problems are not caused by any underlying disorders.

Laptop computers carry their own inherent dangers and problems to posture. The growing use of laptop computers has increased the rate of pains, strains and injuries among computer users. Laptops were designed to allow computer access for limited periods of time when a person could not reach a desktop computer. The increased use of laptops as a replacement for a desktop computer has resulted in higher computer-related injury rates. The problem is that the monitor and keyboard of a laptop are very close together.

To position the monitor at the right height for the back and neck causes the arms and shoulders to be lifted too high.To position the keyboard at the best height for the arms and shoulders, the user must hunch the shoulders and neck to see the monitor. Carrying laptops around can also cause excessive strain on muscles and joints.

Here are my key prevention tips for laptop users. Try to use peripheral equipment whenever possible such as a docking station, separate keyboard, mouse and laptop. Have frequent breaks. Use a well setup desktop computer instead of a laptop. Don't use the smallest laptop screen you can - do the opposite! See a chiropractor for a spinal assessment and don't put off your exercise plan. Start working out and build some back muscle strength - it only has to hold you up for the rest of your life!