Having faulty posture has been shown to lead to discomfort, pain and disability of the neck, according to physical therapist Florence Kendall, author of “Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain.” This is often due to the poor body mechanics that we use each and every day just living our lives. The repetitive stress that we put on the spine, like slouching in our chairs, results in muscle imbalances that eventually change our posture and lead to pain.
Muscle Balance
Our muscles need to be in balance with each other to keep us in proper posture. Muscles have a specific length that allows them to contract and stretch to move the body. After movement, the muscles should go back to their proper length and balance the front and back of the body. When muscles are out of balance due to faulty postures and overuse of muscle positions, it will create an imbalance which will lead to pain and loss of range of motion.
Adaptive Shortening
It takes energy for our muscles to contract. Our muscles will adapt to the positions that we hold ourselves in most frequently to conserve energy. If you slouch over a computer all day, the chest muscles will shorten to help you hold this posture. If the opposing muscles in the upper back are not strong enough to pull these muscles back to their proper length, the slouching posture will remain even when you are not at your computer. This is called adaptive shortening and it is what causes muscle imbalances.
Forward Head Posture
A common posture that is becoming prevalent is a rounded shoulder, forward head posture. This is due to the fact that the eyes want to be parallel to the ground so that you can look straight ahead. If your shoulders are rounded forward, it causes your head to look slightly down. To compensate, your body will lift your head up to keep you looking forward. This places your neck in a stretched position which can lead to postural changes in the neck causing pain.
Spinal Issues
With these faulty postures the spinal vertebrae cannot hold their proper position around the spinal cord and the discs. This can cause the bones of the spine to put pressure on the nerves resulting in pain. It can also cause the bones to compress the discs, which can put pressure on the nerves, again resulting in pain.The bones can also press on each other and wear away the cartilage that protects them, resulting in arthritis.
Restoring Posture
The best way to reverse the muscle imbalances and faulty postures that might be causing your neck pain are with exercises that strengthen the weak, stretched muscles and stretching the short, contracted muscles. Specifically, you can lift your chest up and squeeze your shoulder blades together in your back allowing your shoulders to pull back. This will stretch the chest and strengthen upper back muscles, and should provide temporary relief to aches and pains.
References
- “Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain”; Florence Peterson Kendall, P.T., F.A.P.T.A.; 1993
- Univ. of Maryland Spine Program: A Patient’s Guide to Neck Pain
- Univ. of Michigan Health System: Neck Exercises
