More and more often over the last few years I have been seeing patients with sore necks that when I test them they show both sides of their neck pulled forward.    To some degree this is due to the overuse of computers.  We are spending more and more time in front of computer screens.  Folks are leaning their heads forward as they get immersed in the screen causing the head to ride forward of the shoulders.

This is a different kind of neck stress than when we are reading a book.  With a book the head still can stay balanced on the shoulders but the head tilts down to look at the book.  This is still a stress to the neck, but a different stress than having the head pulled straight forward looking at a computer screen.

Imagine holding a bowling ball in your hand upright and over your elbow, which is sitting on a table.  If the bowling ball is directly over your elbow it does not take much effort to keep it upright.  It is simply a matter of fine movements of the balance muscles in the arm to keep that ball centered over your elbow and held up in your palm.

But if you tilt that ball just a couple inches forward so it is no longer centered over your elbow, your forearm muscles have to now do a lot of work to keep that bowling ball from falling forward onto the table.  Although those muscles are working to pull back on the wrist, the major pull is actually down toward the elbow because of the direction the muscle contracts.  

Your head is just like that bowling ball.  When it is centered over your shoulder all it takes is small movements of the balance muscles to keep the head upright and balanced.  But when your head is forward of your shoulder those neck muscles have to contract to pull back on the head to keep it from flopping forward.  And just like in the arm, those muscles are actually pulling mostly downward.  That means they are squeezing the neck bones together, squashing the discs and pinching the neck nerves down to your arms.

If this becomes a chronic posture, that compression on the joints will cause them to rub and wear down, which we call osteoarthritis.  At the same time the compression on the nerves and discs causes degeneration of the discs and nerves.  This is what I see happening - lots of degenerating spines due to neck tension.

This problem is hard to see on yourself unless it is really exaggerated.  To see if it is a problem for you have someone else look at you from the side.  Your ear should be directly centered over your mid-shoulder.  I see people whose necks are 3 and even 4 inches forward of their shoulder.  Invariably I reach back to feel the muscles of the back of their neck and they are very stiff and tight.

So what can you do?  The answer goes back to what your mother told you when you were six or seven - sit up straight... stand up straight.  Proper posture protects your spine from early degeneration.  That didn't mean much way back then, but once you are in your 30's, 40's, and older, it starts telling you with pain and stiffness that your mother was right.

Well it is never too late to learn.  We can't reverse degenerative disc disease, but we can relieve a lot of the tension and pain if we catch it before it is too far gone.

Most patients' first response when I point out how far forward their ears are in front of their shoulders is to pull their heads back.  This doesn't work.  This just tenses up the already tight neck muscles even more.  You have to shift the position of the shoulders to tilt back under the neck.  You do this with the muscles of the mid-back, chest, and shoulder blades.  Raise your center chest up.  Imagine a helium balloon is tied to the center of your chest lifting it upward.  As you do this, your shoulder blades will drop down toward your tailbone.  As you do this, your head will naturally relax back over your shoulders.  The muscles of the back of the neck will relax, allowing the joints to move more freely.

If you have done this while reading this you will probably notice that your low back tilted forward.  This is not desirable as this will only jam the low back joints and cause the same problems that were occurring in your neck.  To complete the postural correction you need to tuck your butt under a bit to normalize the curve in your low back.  This means that if you are standing you will have to have a slight bend to your knees.  Your gut muscles will have to increase their tone to hold the front of your pelvis up to keep the tailbone tucked under enough to keep the low back balanced.

This sounds like a lot of work with a lot of muscles, but the muscles involved are like the muscles in the arm when the bowling ball is balanced over your elbow.  Stabilizer muscles are designed to always be working to maintain tone and balance.  They are not for movement so they do not fatigue easily.  With practice you will find that having proper posture actually uses less muscle energy and leaves you more relaxed and energetic.

There is hands on guidance for learning to use your balance posture muscles correctly.  Feldenkrais Method practitioners and Alexander Technique teachers both help their students become more aware of their balance and posture as a means of reducing tension in the body.  Personally, Bruce Oliver trained me with Alexander Technique almost 20 years ago.  I just looked him up on the Internet and found he is still teaching here in Sacramento.

Even without training, everybody can practice lifting the chest, dropping the shoulder blades, and tucking the butt under to bring the neck posture back into balance.  I have been practicing as I sit here typing this newsletter.  It takes conscious effort to be aware of your posture and to correct it when the tension patterns crop up, but it is worth the effort.  I have too many patients that have had cervical fusion surgeries because of this kind of tension that have not worked because the fundamental posture problem has not been addressed.  After the surgery has failed to give them the relief they were wishing then they end up coming to me in hopes I can fix them up.  Unfortunately there is only so much I can do once the area has been surgically altered.

Sit tall, stand tall - chest up, shoulders relaxed.  Line up the ears, shoulders, and hips as viewed from the side.  You look better and you feel better with good posture.

Enjoy,


David  

A couple years ago I wrote about cooking with coconut milk.  At that time the only coconut milk available was imported in cans from Southeast Asia.  Now you can get it in the health dairy section at the grocery store in cartons just like regular milk.  But this is watered down compared to the best imported coconut milk, which is more like thick cream.  I have tried all the varieties available at the local Asian markets and my very favorite for flavor and consistency is Chaokoh brand.  It is ridiculously overpriced on Amazon, but I have it in the office for only $1.95 a can.  

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Ibuprofen, Naproxen, and NSAIDs found to increase heart attacks 

 

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Ever wonder why some people seem to have such chronic low back trouble while others never have any?  Well part of the answer may be in our genes.  A gene called PARK2 seems to control the degeneration of the discs in the spine.  It seems that up to 80% of disc disease trouble is genetically related.  Researchers are trying to find out if certain diet or lifestyle behaviors might control the switching on and off of this gene and thereby give us a way to protect the discs from degeneration.

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Does your dog have its own umbrella?

About Dr. DeLapp

Dr. DeLapp has been a philosopher, non-force Chiropractor, medical intuitive, and health innovator for over 30 years.  He began experimenting with  medical intuition in 1972 while studying physics at UC Davis.  In addition to physics he designed and completed an individual major in the philosophy and psychology of education.  Shortly after he choose to pursue a career in the only truly health oriented profession available at that time, Chiropractic.  He graduated with honors in 1981 with his doctorate and opened a private practice. 
Since that time he has continued his research into the effects of consciousness and learning on health. 
He developed the Biomagnetic Retraining system for correcting movement abnormalities. 
Since 1991 he has focused on developing a powerful system for uncovering and assisting the mind-body connection in health and personal growth.  The in-depth coaching, guided by the subconscious direction from the body, is called Heartflow and the simpler mind-body retraining for health and unfoldment he has named Gracework.  Both are available at Fair Oaks Health.

Dr David DeLapp DC
Chiropractor

Ellen Flowers FGM
Spiritual Life Coach

 

 

Catherine Cummings

 

 

Jin Shin Jitsu

 

 

Lorena Morales

 

 

Massage Practitioner

 

 

 

 

 Is there a sweet that is not poisonous?  Yes!


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