For Chiropractors
Clinic-ready takeaway: recognize forward head posture early; document, educate, and address contributing habits.
Key points
- Forward head posture (“tech neck”) can substantially increase effective load on cervical structures (rule-of-thumb: ~10 lb per inch forward displacement).
- Chronic presentation correlates with common complaints (neck pain, headaches, TMJ-related clenching) and postural adaptations (e.g., Dowager’s hump).
- Use imaging judiciously to document alignment/degeneration when indicated and to guide care and patient education.
Tech Neck – Forward Head Posture
I’m sure everyone has heard the term “Tech Neck” associated with all the technology we have today—using personal computers, tablets, cell phones, etc. Well, the facts are this isn’t just some trendy issue with little to no consequences; this is actually an area of great concern and here’s why.
“For every inch of forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.” –Kapandji, Physiology of Joints, Vol. 3
It’s not uncommon to have patients walk into a chiropractor’s office sporting a 12-pound head that’s migrated three inches forward of their shoulders. You know prior to palpation that their cervical extensors (semispinalis, splenii, longissimus, and upper traps) are in a losing battle attempting to isometrically restrain 42 pounds against the unrelenting force of gravity.
Resulting Conditions
This is not the forum to go into all the physiological details of what’s happening. Suffice to say this chronic posture will lead to many detrimental effects on a patient’s body including:
- Neck pain
- Degenerative joint disease
- Dowager’s hump
- Suboccipital pain syndromes
- Sleep apnea
- Difficulty swallowing
- Teeth clenching and TMJ
- Migraine headaches
- Uncoordinated gait and loss of body balance
This condition is epidemic; I have included some random cases from my practice. I describe this in my report in the conclusion as “Abnormal straightening of the cervical curve with anterior weight bearing posture, indicating a loss of spinal curve retaining mechanisms.”
The silver lining is that this should be a huge selling point in your practice; nearly every patient who walks in the door has a 30–40 lbs head on their shoulders which you’re able to help them with.
