Here is an interesting fact from some research a decade ago. In regard to respiratory dysfunction in chronic neck pain patients, one study found, “a strong association between an increased forward head posture and decreased respiratory muscle strength in neck patients.” (Cephalgia, February 2009)
I don’t know about you, but I really like to breathe. The last time I checked air is pretty important, probably the most important in making sure our human bodies function. Without air, you will not last longer than few minutes. We know we can last a few days without water and a few weeks without food.
I want to take a moment right now and be grateful that we breathe. Be grateful that you are breathing automatically and that you breathe well. Now, how much do you want to be healthy and breathe in the future?
Another study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, studied forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume between a group of people with forward head posture and those without. They found that forward head posture (which we see all too often in the elderly), “could reduce vital capacity, possibly because of weakness or disharmony of the accessory respiratory muscles.” (J Phys Ther Sci, 2016 Jan)
Another interesting fact from the Mayo clinic found that long-term forward neck posture leads to, “long-term muscle strain, disc herniations, and pinched nerves.” (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, March 2000)
Oh and in volume three of the physiology of joints by Kapandji, “for every inch forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.”
More weight on your joints and body. That is a lot more work to do!
Here is some more information from Rene Cailliet, MD, director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Southern California. “Forward head posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture results in loss of vital capacity of the lungs by as much as 30 percent. This shortness of breath can lead to heart and blood vascular disease.”
Have you ever thought why you innately know that someone with a forward head probably isn’t doing so well compared to someone with great posture? Posture and physiology are inter-related. If you do a simple Google search on this, you will find many research articles about it. The more you read about it, the more you realize we are still learning so much about the human body!
So here are four great exercises you can do on a daily basis to work on keeping your posture erect!
Hold each exercise for five seconds and do each one three times. Try for doing these throughout the day, three to four times.
- Chin-tuck
- In a sitting or standing position
- Pull your shoulder blades back and down and pinch them together
- Keeping your chin parallel with the floor, tuck your chin in preferably to get your ears over your shoulders
- Neck extension
- In a sitting or standing position
- Make sure your shoulders are away from your ears
- Tip your chin back, look up towards the ceiling
- Chest expansion
- In a sitting or standing position
- Feet hip width apart
- Extend your arms back with your thumbs facing back (added stretch for arms)
- Expand into your chest, make sure there is room between your chin and chest
- Low back extension
- In a sitting or standing position
- Feet hip width apart
- Place your hands on your lower back with your fingers toward the ground
- Extend backward
Neila Rey “I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t.“
