If you want to know how my forward head posture gave me tension headaches then, you’ve got to read my write-up carefully.
Headaches are not uncommon. Almost everyone who breathes air, eats food and drinks water, does have a headache in some point in his/her life.
While headaches are common, if a headache is caused by lifestyle changes, it becomes uncommon. For example, I have been suffering from a certain type of headache for the past few months.
When I paid a visit to a medical health professional. I was told that this headache was a resultant of my bad neck posture.
As I was unable to maintain the natural curve of my cervical neck, the aftermath of my forward neck gave rise to headaches (the medical term given to this headache was tension headache).
So, how was my forward neck to be blamed?
Read on to find out:
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How My Forward Head Posture Gave Me Tension Headaches Article Contents:
1) What is a Headache?
2) How I Got a Forward Neck?
3) What is a Tension Headache?
4) How did My Bad Neck Posture Give Rise to Tension Headaches?
5) How did My Cervicogenic Headaches Open My Eyes?
6) Are Tension Headaches caused by Forward Head Serious?
7) How did I Try and Fix My Tension Headaches?
8) Conclusion
What is a Headache?
This is a question that has the simplest possible answer. Nonetheless, rather than giving it a bookish answer that you find in dictionaries, let me describe my headache as I feel it.
So, in my opinion, a headache is a condition wherein the pain starts in a dull fashion before increasing its pace. In my case, it envelopes the entire head. There is no exact source of where it starts and ends.
So, it is throbbing and usually dull. It’s not like I am experiencing excruciating pain in the head that incapacitates me to indulge in any sort of task that requires concentration.
In my case, the pain envelopes the entire head. It is present in the front, the back and even the temple areas. So, it seems as if my headache has literally overpowered my entire head.
How I Got a Forward Neck?
Let’s give the usual articles that start to explain, ‘active headaches’ and ‘passive headaches’ a passé. If I am not mistaken then there are more than 148 different types of headaches.
If I start to explain each and every one of them in detail then, not only shall I be digressing from the topic of this article but also filling up hundreds of pages (that no one would bother to even read).
So, let me stick with the point – how did I have a forward neck?
(After all, I come across as a well-educated man with ample knowledge on headaches – pun intended).
The answer to the above question is – why do intellectuals have a nerd neck?
Well, this was just a joke.
Nonetheless, knowledge alone is never going to save me from suffering from a bad neck posture.
So coming back to the point – how did I get a nerd neck? Well, read on to find out:
Bad Lifestyle and Laziness at its Pinnacle:
So, when it comes to my bad neck posture then, it no one but ME to blame. Yes, I am entirely responsible (as are most of you reading this article) for my poor head and neck posture.
It all started when I took up a desk job at a top notch MNC. The job required me to work long hours looking into my computer screen and analyzing data that needed super-dense concentration.
On an average, I was spending 6 to 8 hours in front of my laptop. This was a forced act that placed excessive pressure onto my cervical spine. The end result was that just 2 years into the job and my head was already positioned 2 inches ahead of my cervical spine.
Simply put, I was craning my head forward even when I was not working on my laptop. This was because, my bad neck posture (while working on the desk) had been imbibed into my daily lifestyle.
Crane neck had become a part and parcel of my life. So, any activity I did forced my head to be naturally sliding 2 inches ahead of my earlobes or the shoulder blades.
This added 20 to 25 pounds of weight onto my cervical spine. It definitely needed to be fixed.
What is a Tension Headache?
A tension headache can be described as a sensation of pain that tends to envelop the entire head. In my case, it felt as though my stocking garter that I wore while playing soccer had been wrapped across my forehead.
The pain that a tight garter causes when placed onto your head is what I literally experienced (day in and day out). So, when the pain in your head envelopes the entire surface area then, it is termed as a tension headache.
My case was chronic as every other day, I was suffering from tension headaches that lasted a few minutes to an hour.
So, how did I feel when I was suffering from a tension headache?
@ Whenever I get tension headaches, I feel as though two massive palms are pressing against the sides of my head.
@ I also feel as though my shoulders are getting constricted. I also feel a lot of tightness in the muscles that surround my neck area.
@ Apart from stiff upper back and neck, I also suffer from constant headache. It is mild in nature but constant.
@ I also find it really tough to concentrate in a well-lit area. If someone switches on an extra tube light in the room then, the intensity of my headache increases.
@ In my case, these headaches last close to 45 minutes in duration. After this, they vanished as soon as they had come.
Important Note:
I started to take notice of my tension headaches when they took a chronic turn. I started to experience these headaches lasting 30 to 45 minutes almost every second day.
When this carried on for weeks, I realized that I had to get to the core of it. I asked my healthcare provider the real cause behind my headaches.
His answer was simple: it was because of my forward neck.
How did My Bad Neck Posture Give Rise to Tension Headaches?
The day I looked in front of the mirror and realized that in my profile, my head was sliding 2 inches ahead of my shoulders, I acknowledged that I was indeed suffering from a bad neck posture.
My forward head position was reducing the strongholds of my neck muscles. At the same time, it was also weakening my upper back muscles.
Besides this, my nerd neck was also placing unwanted pressure on my cervical nerves. When your nerves are pinched or compressed, they do not send or receive signals to and from the brain in an optimal fashion.
This leads to headaches.
So, I was suffering from the same consequences. Herniated disc was not ruled out in my case. The bulge in my neck led to my cervical nerves being compressed.
The end result – persistent headaches, popularly known as tension headaches.
How did My Cervicogenic Headaches Open My Eyes?
When I realized that my incorrect cervical spinal posture was to be blamed for my tension headaches, I knew I had to fix my forward head posture fast.
As tension headaches are NOT primary headaches, I also realized that they were caused by a secondary issue. This secondary issue (in my case) was bad neck posture.
Pain, stiffness in the muscle and TMJ were some of the side-effects of my cervicogenic headaches. I even started to experience sensitivity to loud noise as well as bright light.
I was even suggested that my Occipital nerve might have been pinched as my pain initiated at the back of my head before spreading to the temple area, the forehead and finally, enveloping my eyes.
Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that a nerd neck posture could lead to such complications.
Are Tension Headaches caused by Forward Head a Serious Issue?
Well, of course they are. In my case, my lifestyle was terribly jeopardized simply because every other day, nagging headaches would leave me feeling miserable.
How can I concentrate in any activity if my head is throbbing in pain?
So yes, tension headaches caused by your crane neck posture should be taken seriously.
If you experience any of the following symptoms then, you do need to work really hard to fix your forward head posture fast:
@ Your headaches are persistent in nature. They span 30 to 45 minutes and have been nagging you for 3 weeks or more.
@ You neck is feeling rather rigid and it does not move sideways or forward/backwards flawlessly. You need to put in a lot of effort to get this job done.
@ Apart from muscle stiffness in the neck area, your arms and upper back too seem rather stiff.
@ You may begin to experience pain in your eye socket. Your temple area may also start to ache.
@ You might be experiencing a splitting headache when you wake up first thing in the morning.
@ It is possible that you might see stars when you wake up in the morning. This is similar to a blackout but it lasts for a very brief period – a few seconds to be precise.
@ Your upper back is stiff and your jaw and throat also feels rather stiff.
Please Note: If any of the above symptoms are bothering you then, it is highly likely that your poor neck posture is to be blamed. You also need to learn how to maintain good cervical posture.
How did I Try and Fix My Tension Headaches?
Now that I realized that my tension headaches were a direct resultant of my poor neck posture, I knew I had to fix this. So, I started to figure how to fix my nerd neck.
Here is what I finally did to try and fix the issue:
Workplace Transformation:
First and foremost, I changed the way I handled the laptop, desktop, tablet and even my cell-phone. For a starter, I purchase a computer chair. I adjusted the desk to place my computer screen at eye level.
I also ensured that I took breaks every 15 to 20 minutes of working on my laptop. I also cut down my watch time by 90% on mindless videos on my cellphone.
The Pillow & Mattress Issue:
The second way I used to fix my bad head and neck posture was by changing my pillow and mattress. I ditched the old mattress with a stiffer one. I also ditched my ultra-soft pillow with a cervical pillow.
I also made a serious effort to stop bending my cervical spine awkwardly when I slept. I maintained an eye level posture with my chin “Not” tucked to my chest. I also stopped sleeping on my belly.
Exercising to Maintain Good Neck Position:
I then worked really hard and made a super-conscious effort to maintain optimal eye to neck co-ordination. I looked at eye level while performing most activities.
I always looked into the mirror to check my side profile. If I found even the slightest hint that my head was sliding forward then, I immediately checked my posture.
I repeated the “mirror exercise” a couple of times daily in order to maintain optimal head posture. Basically, I made sure that my ear lobes were in line with my head (in the mirror profile).
Takeaway
I do realize that forward head posture is affecting almost every other person out there who handles a cellphone or works on laptop. Nonetheless, it is rather sad that no one is taking their vulture neck posture seriously.
Almost everyone out there is allowing their head to slide inches ahead of their shoulder blades.
This not only added pounds after pounds of unwanted burden on your cervical spine but also gives rise to a myriad of ailments including the one I just discussed – tension headaches.
My take on tensions headaches is to take them very seriously. Work on your cervical posture and it is highly likely that you shall stop suffering from tension headaches in the near future.
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