Forward Head Posture - What is the cause of forward head posture?
Forward head posture often gets blamed on tight pectoral muscles and lengthened muscles in the back of the neck. However, just like an anterior pelvic tilt (see the video on correcting anterior pelvic tilt as a reference), a forward head is a result of a forward weight shift through the cranium.
When the head is forward, muscles in the front of the neck pick up leverage and make it hard to get into an upright position with the head stacked over the rib cage.
But what actually positions these muscles? Turns out, the abdominal training you might be doing could be the culprit.
The six pack muscles (rectus abdominis) pull the sternum down when they are contracted into a shortened state. On the other side of the sternum are the two major front neck muscles (Sterno-Cleido Mastoid or SCM). With the sternum pulled down, the SCM pulls the head forward easily.
What exercises use the rectus abdominis in a shortened state?
-Crunches
-Sit-ups
-Planks (possibly depending on resting position and patterns of use)
-Leg lifts
If these are your traditional abdominal routine and you have forward head, you may be sabotaging your progress to correct your forward head posture.
Instead, you can use a 4-step process to improve movement of the sternum and expansion of the front side of your body.
This way, you can forget all the shoulder blade squeezes and spinal extension-based activities that just hide your forward head posture (and don't actually work).
For more, visit: chaplinperformance.com