Back to Health with Correct Ergonomics and Chiropractic Care: Part 2 is about how to make changes in your daily life for better posture and health. So posture is the way that you hold your body at any given moment, whether sitting, standing, or being active. And ergonomics is a science dedicated to studying human posture that is most healthy for our bodies.
Many patients seek chiropractic care for pain relief. However, your chiropractor should also help you decide which aggravating activities are unnecessary and must be eliminated. This is important for prevention of rein-jury and for further future trauma.
Get started with some facts in our latest post regarding forward head posture and “text neck”.
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Forward Head Posture
Forward head posture (FHP) is a common condition where your head is positioned with your ears in front of your body’s vertical mid line. In normal or neutral head posture, your ears line up with your shoulders, mid line, hips, knees and ankles. Forward head posture can cause neck pain, stiffness, an unbalanced gait, and other side effects.
Forward head posture (FHP) occurs when a person is leaning their head forward. This causes an out of neutral alignment with their spine. Your head weighs about 10–14 pounds (lb) in a neutral spine position but increases in weight as it leans forward.
For example, a common cause of forward head posture is due to reading. Students, or other readers, ordinarily place a book on a flat surface, bending the head and neck forward to read. This requires that the posterior (rear) neck muscles maintain sustained contraction in order to bear the heavy weight of the head against gravity.
Neck strain can be avoided by placing the book at eye level. For instance on a book rack. Thus tilted at a convenient angle, the book can be read easily when the head is held erect and balanced. This avoids neck strain/injury from this repetitive forward head posture. Similarly, this also applies to the computer monitor. It should be brought up to eye level.
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“Text Neck”
This is a term developed which describes the posture formed by leaning forward for prolonged periods. Text Neck is acquired while viewing a cell phone, reading and texting. This causes stress injuries. Moreover, this incorrect posture often results in cervical and shoulder pain, headaches and thoracic hyperkyphosis. Similarly, holding your head in one position (toward your shoulder) with your cellphone/smartphone held by your shoulder and head so you are hands free can cause neck pain and injury.
A solution is a headset. This is beneficial to anyone who spends a significant amount of time talking or listening on the telephone. Preferably, to avoid twisting stresses when looking toward an object or toward another person, one should turn the entire body and not just the head. For instance, when a person types from copy, it is important to place the copy at eye level and as near as possible to the center of the line of vision.
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Your chiropractor is your partner in your healthcare.
At Meiri Chiropractic in West Palm Beach, we’ll work with you to get the relief and health you need through chiropractic care. Together, we can be on the lookout for life and work situations where you experience pain in relation with poor posture. Pain is our body’s way of warning us of problems, so don’t ignore it. Shape up your life! Check your posture today.📞Contact Meiri Chiropractic today at 561-253-8984 to make an appointment or to learn more about Back to Health with Correct Ergonomics and Chiropractic Care: Part 2.
