It’s probably not something you think about too often right – how you hold your head?   Head carriage plays a huge impact on your posture and on how much load you place on other parts of your body, especially your neck and shoulders. Do you ever get home from the office and wonder why your neck is sore after a long day looking at the computer?

It may surprise you to learn that your head weighs approximately 8% of your bodyweight which is roughly anywhere between 5-7kg. It is quite a lot really when you have to keep it balanced right on top of your body. One of the most common postural problems in today’s society is forward head carriage. Our workplaces constantly encourage us to look down or promote a sedentary environment where it is hard to maintain the necessary strength for optimum posture.

When the head is not in line with the rest of the body, i.e the ear above the shoulders it creates considerable stress on the neck and shoulder muscles. In fact for every inch the head sits forward it increases the weight loaded on the neck extensors. For example if the head is an inch further forward what was 6kg for the neck muscles to support becomes 12kg, if it is two inches it becomes 18kg and so on. Quite a considerable task for these small muscles that have to hold your head up all day, which is why they can cause problems after a long day at the computer.

The other problem with a forward head carriage is not only does it place extra load on the muscles it can also reduce blood circulation to the head and cause headaches. If any of these symptoms are sounding familiar it might be time to address how you hold your head.

To help you find the right position for the head you want to think about lengthening the back of the neck while tucking the chin in ever so slightly and keeping the eyes level with the horizon. If you are not sure about how to find this position your FORM Fitness personal trainer will be able to show you so you can help change those habits that can lead to forward head carriage.

Making sure your work environment is set up correctly if you spend time at a computer is also important, having the computer screen the right distance from the head and at eye level will help to maintain proper head posture.

Sometimes forward head carriage is just a habit that needs to be retrained, but prolonged periods in this position will cause the muscles to adapt, leading to imbalances where certain muscles will weaken and others shorten making it very hard to find the right position without corrective exercise and treatment. In this instance, it is important to undertake a postural and muscle imbalance assessment to see where the issues lie.

So remember every time you catch yourself reaching forward with your head try to remind yourself long back of the neck, chin in. 🙂