Maybe it was the fear generated around the recent storm or the stress of the upcoming holidays and shopping, but we have had an increase in the number of folks coming in with neck pain. They are always surprised when we don’t do anything to their neck or give them anything to do to their neck. It’s simple: the neck is not the problem. Your neck is the symptom but the problem is more likely a rounded upper back, or the shoulders hinged forward and one shoulder is higher than the other. Either of those scenarios means that your pelvis is out of balance and out of position.
If you stand sideways in the mirror, there should be a straight vertical line from your ankles to knees to pelvis to shoulder to head. When you don’t “load vertically” then you are unconsciously asking different muscles to do a job they weren’t designed to do. In the case of your neck, if your head is forward of that vertical line then you have been asking those neck muscles to hold up around 15 pounds! You don’t ask your arm or shoulder to hold up a bowling ball for more than a few seconds but that’s what your head sitting on your neck is like and you hold your head like that for hours! Any wonder your neck hurts??
So, if your neck is hurting, it’s not your neck – it’s your posture. Call us at Pain Performance and let us help you get your posture back in alignment. You’ll be surprised at how many other aches and pains will disappear as well!
