Is Your Head on Straight?

Headaches and neck pain image.

Rene Cailliet, M.D., director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California, has written about the importance of the relationship between our head and our cervical spine (neck).

Gravity, poor posture, the weight of the head or past injury (such as a car accident) can cause something called the "Forward Head" syndrome. This is where your chin juts out in front of your shoulders and chest, causing stress to your spinal cord and brain stem. It’s crucial for your head to sit back, centred above your shoulders.

According to Cailliet, when your head is jutting abnormally forward, it can add significant pressure to your cervical spine. Besides fatigue, it can produce other health-robbing affects:

  1. Impaired lung capacity
  2. Loss of proper bowel movement
  3. Reduced vitality
  4. Chronic pain

Postural changes reduce your ability to turn and bend and can impair the function of your nervous system. Eventually the entire body can be affected, producing the telltale hunched posture.

Chiropractic care has helped restore the proper relationship between the head and neck for countless millions of people. But it takes time! The Forward Head syndrome takes time to show up and even longer to resolve.

Keep a keen eye out for people with this all too common condition and refer them to our practice for a no-obligation evaluation.

Dr Hennessy Asks some important questions of interest to Southport residents - Chiropractor Southport Dr Hennessy Asks...

How could a child benefit from chiropractic?
Regardless of our age, each of us in Southport encounters physical, chemical and emotional stresses that exceed our ability to handle. For newborns, it could be the trauma encountered at birth. For toddlers it could be from learning to walk or ride a bike. Many of the problems we chiropractors see in adults are the result of neglected traumas from childhood.
How do most people deal with subluxations?
First, they try to ignore them. When they don't, they go to the medicine cabinet to stop their brain from feeling the symptom. Later, back surgery may be threatened. Sadly, it's not until this later stage that they consult our Southport chiropractic office. Yet, even with the delay, most are delighted by the results produced by today's chiropractic care. Contact us and let's get started.