Forward head...

[Lauracat]

I'm posting this on behalf of my DH. He's been working on his posture, mostly through Egoscue exercises (we have the books, and he also subscribed to the online service at some point). It's been helping him with his shoulders, which were hunched forward, and with hip tightness, but his head is still very forward and his upper back rounded as well. He's tired of looking like a turtle (yes, he knows I'm saying that ).

Has anyone successfully dealt with this, without spending money on a PT? He's very open to videos or any type of (cheap) method. TIA!

Laura

[mizach]

DH, DS and I have that too. It's the curse of the computer/laptop, according to our PT. We're still work in progress. Let me know what works for your DH.
Working on posture, doing stretches and creating a work office that keep our posture up and not hunched up are the things we are doing. DS is only 12!

[Scorpio6]

Stand in the corner of a room where you can put your hands on the wall on either side of the corner. Lean into the corner and back out again, about 15 times. Do this every day. It will help stretch that shoulder area back to a more normal posture.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by Scorpio6

Stand in the corner of a room where you can put your hands on the wall on either side of the corner. Lean into the corner and back out again, about 15 times. Do this every day. It will help stretch that shoulder area back to a more normal posture.

This is great.

I also imagine that a string is attached to the very top point of my head (top point when head is pulled in, as at attention--so at the back of the crown) and someone (for me, Blessed Virgin) is tugging at it.

[bee]

Another thing that might help: stick ups:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzAbglv7jyA

[Lauracat]

Thanks for the replies - I'll pass them all along! Yes, it's gotten worse now that he's a student and hunched over books/equations for hours. Scorpio6 - that's similar to an Egoscue exercise he does, but I think he does it as a static stretch, and the movement sounds like a good addition.

We found a Feldenkrais-based book, Relaxercise, lying around, and he tried some of those shoulder exercises and seemed to like them...

Edited to say - Bee, we were cross-posting. Those look great!

[donnadc]

I am working on this and have PT exercises that I do (I should do them daily).

I do rows with a stretchy band, with the band achored a little above waist height.
Stand up straight, chin tucked in, and bring hands in to the waist, thinking about pinching the shoulder blades down and back.

I do planks and bird dogs for strengthening the core.

I was told to avoid and exercise and activities that round the body forward. Think of standing straight, chin tucked (like you're making a double chin), chest forward and up.
It's alot to think about, and I still correct myself all of the time. It's hard to change a 40 yr old habit - lol.

I found this website useful, she addresses forward head:
http://www.drbookspan.com/NeckPainArticle.html

[Lucky Star]

Originally Posted by bee

Another thing that might help: stick ups:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzAbglv7jyA

These are excellent!
I always keep in mind Molly Tittle's reminder to lift your shoulder blades up, back and down in their 'pockets'. I do this all day long, and it helps keep my neck from jutting forward too.

[tigerbaby]

Originally Posted by bee

Another thing that might help: stick ups:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzAbglv7jyA

Love this! Great stretches!

Along with stretching, he really should do some strength work for the upper back area. A strong upper back will help pull those shoulders back. One thing that really helped me was T-tapp Tempo Arms. The workout isn't super long and focuses on strengthening the upper back using no weight. It's pretty intense surprisingly and you get a good burn going. I used this years ago when I was getting married because I was wearing a strapless dress and couldn't stand my rounded shoulders. Tempo arms helped immensely.

Classical stretch would work really well also. I saw a photo once online of a woman whose posture was completely changed by it.

[tigerbaby]

I found the pictures posted on the Essentrics blog. There is the before and after picture of this woman's postural changes due to classical stretch.

http://essentrics.com/images/BLog/daniellebad.jpg

http://essentrics.com/images/BLog/daniellegood.jpg