The ravages of forwarding head posture or text neck

This is not the first article that I am doing on this subject and it will not be the last, as the subject is so topical with confinement and the rise of remote work, especially on a laptop at home. 

Text-neck syndrome can be treated with chiropractic care, and this chiropractor in Montreal can definitely help you.  The website : chiro montréal

We have already talked about the disorders associated with a forward head posture or tech-neck or text-neck. Indeed in the first article on the tech-neck  on my blog in 2016, studies already associated neck pain, headaches and cervico-brachial neuralgia with this problem of forward head posture. In another article on my blog in 2018, two other studies talked about decreased breathing capacity and breathing problems associated again with forward neck posture. There is no shortage of research on this subject and 2020-2021 has also been rich in studies on this subject. So I’m going to give you a few of them here:

Six times more risk of neck pain with the smartphone!

A study published in October 2020 by Iranian researchers wanted to analyze the extent of the use of smartphones and the possible correlation with neck pain and / or psychological disorders in office workers. They analyzed more than 1,600 office workers who had used their smartphones on a regular basis and for more than 4 years. They found that office workers over-used their smartphones and suffered from neck pain. Researchers estimate that people who regularly use their smartphones were 6 times more likely to suffer from neck pain than others. They also found that excessive smartphone use was also associated with psychological disorders such as anxiety, stress and depression!

In another study released in May 2020 , researchers found that loss of cervical lordosis (forward head posture) was well associated with weakness of the respiratory muscles in patients with neck pain. This confirms the data found by other researchers I talked about in my 2018 article.

Among the interesting studies, we should mention a systematic review (study that analyzes all scientific publications on a subject) published in September 2020 on the subject of the position of the head and its impact on the functioning of the human body. The researchers found that the position of the head did indeed have a significant effect on the functioning of the human body. Published studies show that poor head position affects muscle activity, proprioception, breathing, and neck pain.

Headaches and migraines are also linked to a forward head posture

I can cite many other studies on this subject, but I will end this paragraph with another study published in October 2020 . Spanish researchers wanted to find out if people with primary headaches (such as migraines or tension headaches) had a forward head posture. They found that indeed people with migraines and tension headaches had an abnormal forward head posture and that people with chronic migraines and headaches had an even more forward posture than those with episodic headaches. .

This point is all the more important since very often when I ask for x-rays from patients who come to me for migraines or tension headaches; I hear people say “on the radio, they didn’t see anything abnormal”. However, in the vast majority of cases, there is a reduction or a reversal of the cervical curvature which, as we have seen, is well linked to their migraines and headaches!

What to do for the forward head posture or the text neck (tech neck)?

As I have talked about in other articles, it is first necessary to realize that there may be a link between this poor forward head posture and symptoms such as neck pain, tension headaches, migraines, muscle tension, disc wear and disc disease, neuralgia … A lateral cervical spine x-ray prescribed by your doctor or recommended by your chiropractor can help determine if there is indeed a loss of cervical curvature.

The chiropractor, a specialist in the spine, can then work with you to correct the blockages that have arisen as a result of this bad posture and restore mobility to the cervical column; essential step before starting to strengthen the muscles of the cervical spine to counteract the effects of leaning forward.

You also have to change your habits by avoiding spending a long time on your smartphone or tablet and learning the right positions on the desk and the computer.

And finally, remember that children are even more prone to musculoskeletal disorders and that their bad habits should be closely monitored.

References :

Derakhshanrad N, Yekaninejad MS, Mehrdad R, Saberi H. Neck pain associated with smartphone overuse: cross-sectional report of a cohort study among office workers. Eur Spine J. 2020 Oct 27.

Solakoğlu Ö, Yalçın P, Dinçer G. The effects of forward head posture on expiratory muscle strength in chronic neck pain patients: A cross-sectional study. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020 May 18;66(2):161-168.

Szczygieł E, Fudacz N, Golec J, Golec E. The impact of the position of the head on the functioning of the human body: a systematic review. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020 Sep 17;33(5):559-568.

Elizagaray-Garcia I, Beltran-Alacreu H, Angulo-Díaz S, Garrigós-Pedrón M, Gil-Martínez A. Chronic Primary Headache Subjects Have Greater Forward Head Posture than Asymptomatic and Episodic Primary Headache Sufferers: Systematic