Forward Head Posture - Don't make this abdominal training MISTAKE! (Do this instead - 4-Step Fix)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2020
- 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
Wow. Thank u so much for addressing the second type of forward head posture. I’ve been seeing doctors, PTs, chiropractors etc for years for my low back and nobody once addressed this in this way. If anything they made it worse with all the emphasis on strengthening the core.
I can breathe so much better now and i feel so much better. Thank you!
That is so awesome to hear that you are breathing and feeling better!!! Have a great day!
Which one worked best for you?
Amazing. Far more effective than any other posture correction video on YT. Thanks for your hard work!
Thank for watching. Glad you found them useful!
Most of the actual "Postural restoration" guys are great this just adds a bit of progression and aids in helping your body find its "home".
GOLD. How did I come across this
Thank you 😊 . I will be giving these a try . Wish me luck
Your mention of central abs is referring to rectus andominus? As trainer working in rehab with a physio what I've learned over the years is variety of exercise is important. Plus revisiting easier exercises is important from time to time and personalize routines for each client to meet their needs for fitness and rehab. Your info always adds to my knowledge for my own fitness and clients alike. Thx.
Greg is phenomenal
Thank you my friend!!!!
Super interesting. Thank you for sharing.
You are very welcome!!
Amazing work brother!
Appreciate it!
This was very helpful!
Very happy that it was useful!
I am ashamed to say I gave myself the forward head posture in the upper cross syndrome from Using my iPhone too much and now I also got a painful trigger point that runs all the way from Pec down to
My rib abdomen I got to get on this or I might never get out the couch thanks for the exercise
You are very welcome my friend!! Good luck!
I have terrible forward head posture due to a back and neck injury. It took me years to come to the realization of what this video taught me! I really appreciate your work!
On top of those other injuries I have also had two hernia surgeries and an appendectomy. Due to the incensions my abs just won't give in and stretch at all. What can help me there?
Top video thank-you greatly
You are very welcome!!
Thank you sir ☺
You are very welcome!
Man, I love all these PRI guys, after a knee surgery and several PT's who don't know or just don't care. This stuff is great and really helpful with an intent and purpose to help instead of just going through the motions. Praise God, hosanna in the highest!
When on your side, allow all abdominal muscles to relax and hip to drop back opening space.
Awesome man! Love to hear that!!
MAny thanks !
You are welcome!
My right in between the rib and the hi hinders me from releasing and relaxing my abs.
I can't relax my abs unless I lie down.
You shared raising my arms, I think that will help, but...
I don't know why either.
This is really informative content. Thank you!
This may have caused tightness in my ribs and I have really done a number of mobility routines and no improvement
Any help or advice?
Hi there!! Thanks for watching the videos. A lot of times excessive core bracing can cause tightness in the ribs. However, with reaching and breathing activities, it is often possible to improve the movement of the rib cage.
Some gentle rolling variations tend to work well in the beginning.
The big key is to avoid meeting force with more force. To decrease this sensation of tightness we need to learn how to expand, relax, flow, etc. rather than pushing through the tension with more tension.
Often times, it is more how you are doing the routines than the routines themselves.
If you are looking for individualized advice, feel free to book in for an assessment at the bottom of my website!
@@ChaplinPerformance Thank you for this
Damn these exercises are money in the bank for me! 👍
Would you recommend one handed pushups in this case, or it would promote rounding of shoulders and depressing of sternum?
One handed pushups from the floor are probably going to be a little too compressive in nature if your goal is movement restoration. However, from the wall can definitely work.
@@ChaplinPerformance i still need help , i have to hard of a time relaxing my abdomen, i am not purposely trying to strain my abs , but, it is strained all day keeping me in flight or. fight every waken moment.
@@cinmac3 i too have the same habit. Now I observe my ab muscles are always tight. I am unable to relax them.
Hey. Can you please do a video on rounded shoulders x
100 percent yes!!
Greg - just rewatched this video. I'm super confused (it's me, not you). When walking I was told to slightly tighten my abs as an Excercise to lower back pain. I was also taught that you can do this whilst sitting at the desk from time to time. Are you disagreeing with this? I was told that the abs act as a counter weight to the lower back muscles and takes the pressure off them. Perhaps I'm getting confused with walking and sitting. Are you specifically talking about sitting? It seems you're saying working on abs isn't good at all. Please kindly clarify!
Great! I do not suffer from a marked forward-neck posture. However, I have noticed that pushing my sternum forward as explained in the video help me while I expand the floating ribs area to have better posture. Among other things, the combination of both actions allows the upper spine to naturally curve forward, leaving the shoulder blades behind. Because the first two ribs open the neck is not forward. Could you correct or expand my comments or provide me links to other videos? Many thanks, Rodolfo
Hi there! Thanks a lot for watching. What you say in the comment sounds accurate to me, however with the word "pushing" in regards to the sternum, I would be suspicious that you are lifting your entire rib cage instead of relaxing the front of the neck and center abdominals to allow for the natural movement of the sternum during inhale.
Often times, lifting the entire rib cage as a unit masks a forward neck and head position. Instead of reorienting the entire rib cage up or forward, the idea would be to simply allow the sternum to expand as desired on inhale and to avoid excessive depression on exhale or at rest.
From the other context clues in your comment, I would think that you are not making this error, however it is just something to consider.
At the end of the day, as long as you are moving well (as determined by objective tests) and feeling good, I wouldn't worry too much about one static posture.
Great Vid...I was tryna find out would stretching the abs on a yoga ball help forward head posture
It might be useful
Hi Sir I hope you are well. Could you please make video on ' falling of head in backward direction when human being inhale'
I just updated still need help.
Thank you so much for this informative video. I have been suffering from a number of issues that involve forwars head posture, tight upper chest making it difficult to breathe through my diaphragm (short breaths), and overly tight abs that it looks like they're bulging out. This is from overworking out...can overworking your abs also affect your lower body? Meaning, can overworked abs pull on your hip flexors and shorten your walking gait? Can they also cause shoulder issues on one side? Any help is appreciated. Since I've had this ab issue, ir seems that my wholw body is out of whack...
You might want to check out the new video, would likely help with what you are describing
If you are looking for a whole body approach to wellness Alexander technique could be what you are looking for.
You’ve connected a lot of dots for me with this video.
i have the second kind of forward neck you referred to, but I find information about the second type isn't really out there. What is it called other than having flat t spine?
Military posture or loss of cervical lordosis
I don't understand this ab flexion thing because I just recently learned how to properly brace my core and it make my back feel better and throw me into better alignment when I'm engaged and by no means looks or feels like its pulling my chest down, but quite the opposite.
Sounds like you’ve got what you want out of your bracing strategy… don’t worry about changing it
a very interesting video, thank you for posting. this is something ive thought about, because ive always tried to inhale and ”fill my lungs completely” and never been able to properly. i also have a bad posture with rounded upper back. when i inhale as far as possible while sitting in a ”good posture” i feel my sternum coming forward, then if i hold my breath and let my shoulders fall down, i get a VERY strong stretch in my chest and the sternum i guess, and the muscles on the front of my neck. i also get VERY dizzy. this kind of feels good, but also hurts a little. my question is: is that a good thing to do, as arent i kind of stretching the front neck muscles? also, why am i getting very dizzy as i do this? i dont get dizzy if i just normally take a deep breath and hold it. any advice would be amazing!
Hard to say what the source of the dizziness is. I like the idea of the technique you are describing. Get the sternum to expand forward then let the ribs move around it on exhale. Like you said great for stretching the anterior neck. However this might kick off some sort of panic response or disorientation because of a change in neck position. Try going less extreme but with the same concept
@@ChaplinPerformance thanks for the reply! I dont feel anxious or ”panicky” at all when i do this. Could you elaborate on the panic thing? its really very curious that normally inhaling deep and holding it doesnt cause excessive dizzines but doing it like mentioned before the dizziness is very extreme. it almost feels good, as if more blood flows inside my brain or something!
Hi Sir,I hope you are having a good day.I would appreciate if you could tell me is there any test like Xray to identify that abs are pulling sternem downwards
X ray most likely not
What ab and core exercises would you recommend
Mainly squats and other compound movements. Side lying trunk lifts can also sometimes he useful
Can your diaphragm being messed up and all these muscles in this area being tight make for irregular heart beat or would it be other way around? Or do they just play on each other ?
I wouldn’t necessarily associate those two things. I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know but there’s nothing I know of that ties these two together
Hello Sir. I hope you are well. My pelvic tilts in forward direction involuntary when I breathe in and tilts in backward direction automatically when I breathe out. Could you please help me in fixing this issue
This actually might be normal
Hello Sir
I hope you are well.
I have this forward head posture.
My centeral abdominal hurts while doing hands and knee variation activity. Could you please tell me is there any solution of this problem
Go to my video on all fours belly lift
Ive noticed during conscious breathing exercises that my abs are actually super tight and can feel them pull my sternum down and stretch out my obliques and diaphragm area. This video made me aware that I am compensating big time.
Glad the video was helpful. Gentle inhales and exhales and emphasis on positioning will be helpful for you
Can a infrequent burning type of back ache be caused by this? Between shoulder blades? I notice the pain basically goes away when I straighten up my back and my neck.
Absolutely could be related. Forward head can put tension on muscles and nerves that could result in a burning sensation. Sounds like you’ve got a good solution!
Have the same problem..
How much should ones sternum approximately move out? Great video!
Thank you! This depends on the individual! If your sternum is pretty compressed, any bit of movement would be nice. For purposes of our discussion let’s say about 15-20 degrees from vertical, technically probably 160-165
@@ChaplinPerformance Thank you! Mine is so stiff :0
i still need help , i have to hard of a time relaxing my abdomen, i am not purposely trying to strain my abs , but, it is strained all day keeping me in flight or fight every waken moment.
Sometimes you may have to address the neck first or work a little more with the pelvic position/weight distribution during standing/sitting.
What would you do with the neck , other than this forward head posture
Hi. I recently noticed a lot of muscle spasming between my ribs, so the intercostals. Whats the cause of this?
Without assessing you it is really impossible to say!
@@ChaplinPerformance O come on take a stab at it!
Which exercises I should do for forward head n lumbar for sway back posture.. Plz reply... Thanks
Check my new video and join my new program
Thanks
Is it true that forward head posture causes permanent brain damage? Im scared because i feel very mentally sluggish and i have bad forward head posture. If i fix my forward head posture will i regain my mental clarity again?
I have never heard about brain damage as a result of forward head posture. Brain fog can be a result of many things, however I have found with clients of mine that restoration of normal breathing and rib cage movement is often a good solution. Why this works, we might never know but some theories include normalization of pressures in the body and stimulation of the vagus nerve.
Any benefit or harm in stretching the rectus abs?
Nope it often feels pretty damn good!!
@@ChaplinPerformance By nope Im assuming you mean no harm? Thanks Ill give it a go.
Yeah it feels pretty good. No harm. Like anything, gradually progress
I have the military version ughh
could malocclosion cause forward head posture?
Ali Hasan absolutely yes. I have a borderline skeletal class III malocclusion and it is probably the main reason I have difficulty reducing the anterior orientation of my cranium. In my case and in similar cases of malocclusion, sometimes orthodontic intervention is necessary to recapture all available movement options.
Hope that makes sense! I’ll be doing a video about malocclusion at FHP soon. Some of the things to keep in mind are slightly different.
@@ChaplinPerformance
I hope you talk about splints and ALF appliances in the video
and keep up the good work 👍👍
I totally might!!! ALF vs. MSE vs. LeFort osteotomy is an interesting topic. Stay tuned and thanks for watching!!
I love your videos I learn so much keep on
@@bradyogega9342 Thank you!! Comments like that keep me going. Let me know what topics you want covered!
Greg,
2 questions, I’m curious about. First, what would be the steps in correcting one who started in military neck FHP, but compensated to “upper cross syndrome” FHP (along with thoracic kyphosis, rounded shoulders, etc.) when trying to correct it? Is this even possible, and would you start addressing the “upper cross syndrome” FHP because that’s what they present with or would you fix what started it all in the first place?
Thanks and great video.
Hi there. You likely will want expansion below or between the shoulder blades first, then get the sternum to come up, progressing ultimately to inverted activities. The biggest thing will be expansion in between the blades, just a matter of getting the lower part of the rib cage to expand if that is also compressed.
@@ChaplinPerformance what would you recommend for expansion of lower rib cage? maybe use of a foam roller?
@@2fastnfurious4u that could create the opposite effect since lying on a roller tends to extend your spine. i would think more from a breathing standpoint.
@@atmonotes yep you're right, but I also need to extend my T spine, maybe that's why foam roller was on my mind 💡
@@2fastnfurious4u an excercise as simple as walking can help. you wanna focus on where your center of gravity is like wether you tend to lean frwd or back. just make sure you don’t overdo any extension and remember to breath calmly. Also don’t try to use muscles to lift your sternum throughout the day.
I've got neck hump, pooch belly AND rib flare. Fuck my life
That’s not a useful narrative
@@ChaplinPerformance No, it's not. I've just developed all these problems from having jobs where I'm sat down all day it's going to take a lot of work to fix them. I'll try to stick with the exercises you suggest though
Tambaaku nikal ke baat kr
Total bs