ANTERIOR CARRIAGE OF THE NECK Chiro in Joondalup

Anterior carriage of the neck – also known as a forward head posture. A position many people suffer from due to poor posture as they tend to spend a lot of their day reading, texting or looking at a computer screen. This is when the head is not properly aligned with the neck and shoulders, resulting in the head leaning or tilting forward. This then causes the shoulders to round inwards and may begin to cause pain in the neck as there is an increase in weight and stress on the neck.

Symptoms of anterior neck carriage

• Some people may not experience any discomfort and therefore not know they have anterior carriage of the neck
• Tightness in the neck
• Range of motion reduced, therefore tilting the next backwards may be difficult
• Rounding of the shoulders
• Muscle in the chest are tight
• Numbness and tingling into the arms and/or wrists
• Pain across the upper back

Common causes of anterior neck carriage

• Spending a lot of time at a computer or desk
• Spending a lot of time typing at a keyboard or texting
• Poor ergonomics
• Sleeping on a pillow that is too high/firm
• Carrying heavy back packs or hand bags
• Weak muscles of the surrounding area

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What can you do to correct neck posture?

Here are some simple home exercises you can do at home to help correct your neck posture:

Chin retractions

• Move your head slowly backwards, tucking your chin in the whole time
• You must remain looking straight ahead, you should not tilt the head backwards as in looking up
• Maintained this position for a few seconds then repeat 10-20 times.

Shoulder squeezes

• Bring your shoulders down and back whilst moving your bent elbows posteriorly
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as if your holding paper between them
• Maintain this squeeze for 5 seconds then release the shoulder blades and repeat 10-20 times.

Pectoralis stretch

• Stand in a doorway and bring your arm up to 90 degrees, place the inside of your arm against the door frame and step forwards
• You should feel a stretch in front of your shoulder along the pec muscle
• Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, the repeat 3 times a day.

Wall angels

• Stand with your back against the wall, attempt to get the back of your head and tail bone against the wall by pushing your chin and hips directly back
• Whilst maintaining contact with the wall, bring your arms to 90 degrees in line with your shoulders and try slide your arms above your head, whilst maintain elbow and wrist contact with the wall
• Lower your arms to the staring position and repeat 10 times.

See our website under exercises for more neck posture correction exercises

Chiropractic care

This is a postural problem, although in order to correct anterior carriage of the neck, the joints and muscles must be healthy and functioning correctly. Chiropractic adjustments is a good place to start as this can help with alignment of the joints within the neck. Also helpful in order to lengthen and then strengthen the surrounding muscles of the neck. We can provide you with home exercises and posture correcting devices. Your local chiropractors can also give you some helpful advice to help correct your neck posture. Unlocking dysfunctional joints with chiropractic care is also useful in correcting neck posture.

Anterior Carriage within the neck is a common condition, Lakeside Chiropractic in the heart of Joondalup is here for you. With a lot of experience in the team at Lakeside Chiropractic, we can assist you in providing exercises and manual therapies to return you back to normal activities of daily living. We have visitors from mostly Perth’s Northern suburbs such as: Iluka, Currambine, Tapping, Edgewater, Craigie, Beldon, Mindarie, Ocean Reef and Ridgewood. With HICAPS facilities on site to assist in the expense of your treatment. We’re BUPA and Medibank preferred providers but accept many others including, HIF, HBF, NIB, etc. To book an appointment you can contact us on 93000095 and speak with our receptionist or book via our ‘book now’ tab on our website www.lakesidechiropractic.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you soon and treating your condition.