I bet you all want to know how my nerd neck caused me mom’s shoulders. Well, nerd neck is a “silly name” given to forward head posture.
Then again, ‘mom’s shoulder’ is yet another weird name that some people have given to ‘rounded shoulders’. The best way to describe this posture is – your shoulders dropping or slouching forward.
In a research study conducted by Rama Krishna Reddy and a few other researchers stated that 73% of people aged in between 20 to 50 years had right shoulders in a rounded position. The study also claimed that only 66% of those aged in between 20 to 50 years had left shoulders in a rounded position.
So, as I am 44 years of age, I fall in this age bracket. Nonetheless, in my case, both my right as well as the left shoulders were rounded. So, my ‘mom’s shoulders’ were on both the sides (right and left).
I would also like to state that my nerd neck was the main cause behind my rounded shoulders.
Let me discuss how my nerd neck gave me sloppy shoulders:
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Contents of How My Nerd Neck Forced Me to Develop Mom’s Shoulders Write-Up:
1) What is Nerd Neck?
2) What are Rounded Shoulders & How I Got Them?
3) What are the Main Causes behind Mom’s Shoulders?
4) How I Finally Got Rid of My Mom’s Shoulders?
5) My Conclusive Analysis on Mom’s Shoulders
What is Nerd Neck?
Nerd neck is a physical condition that has a lot to do with your posture. It is not an illness or an ailment. Nerd neck has a lot to do with your lifestyle choices and is linked directly with forward neck posture.
In my case, my head was almost always positioned in front of my shoulders. When I viewed my side profile in the mirror, I detected that my ears were a few inches in front of my shoulder blades.
Basically, I always maintained poor posture.
Owing to this very reason, a lot of unwanted pressure was placed onto the muscles on my neck and upper back. The end result was stretching and compressing of certain muscle groups in the neck and upper back.
This led me to have a nerd neck.
So, it would not be incorrect to state that a nerd neck is among the most common forward head posture symptoms.
What are Rounded Shoulders & How I Got Them?
Rounded shoulder are also known as mom’s shoulders. In simple words, when your shoulders are not aligned with your body’s natural position, it is termed as rounded shoulders.
In my case, my head was always sliding in front of my shoulders. This is what caused the muscles in my neck to stretch awkwardly. My forward head posture also forced the muscles of my upper back to weaken. So, these muscles could not take the weight of my head properly.
So, how did I develop mom’s shoulders?
Like I have earlier confessed, I never paid attention towards my posture. I was often told by my dad to ‘walk tall’ but the concept of “walking tall” just did not get registered in my brain.
For every minor to major chore, I was always sliding my head in front of my shoulders. A simple act such as walking on an empty trail would have me looking a few feet ahead onto the ground (rather than looking straight ahead).
So, in my case, my ‘poor body posture’ was to blame.
Nonetheless, there could be other reasons as well for rounded shoulders. If you are suffering from any of these, it could be the reason behind your mom’s shoulders.
Let me walk you through a few of these:
Your Family’s Skeletal History:
This is quite similar to your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother etc. having a certain body type or posture. Some individuals have the vertebras of their spine arranged in a peculiar manner.
What I am trying to imply is that such individuals have rounded shoulders since a young age. Their vertebras are pushed forward, which in turn compel their shoulders to appear slouchy or rounded.
Your Family Muscle Weakness History:
Yet another reason behind your mom’s shoulders is muscle imbalance. This is not owing to bad neck posture. The genetics are to be blamed. Some individuals are born with weak muscles in the upper back and neck.
Owing to the naturally weak muscles of the neck and upper back, the optimal position of the head cannot be maintained. This leads to forward head posture.
When the head sticks out like that of a vulture, the muscles of the neck tend to get stretched.
Some people have weak muscles in and around the chest area. Their front shoulder muscle too are naturally weak. This leads to stretching of the chest and shoulder muscles.
The end result is “rounded shoulders”, with no fault of theirs.
The Stress/Depression Factor:
Hey, this is one of the most overlooked factors behind mom’s shoulders. Guess what, even I am suffering from the same – it’s called stress.
Everyone known it and everyone has it. Unfortunately, those individuals that cannot handle stress tend to get depressed. This is what really happened in my case.
Owing to my inability to handle stress, I became depressed. This depression altered my natural posture. As I felt gloomy and sad, I stopped looking right ahead and instead, started to look down towards the ground.
This ‘downward gaze’ soon became a habit that was tough to break. I looked down for performing almost every other task. It could be as simple as walking, talking to friends, riding a bike or even buying groceries.
This act of pushing my neck forward, resulted in me getting a ‘forward neck’. As the muscles in my neck stretched, I soon had what we commonly term, a ‘nerd neck’.
Diseases such as Spondylitis:
The last and final cause for rounded shoulders is a medical ailment. If you are suffering from scoliosis then, it is quite possible that you would have mom’s shoulders.
This is because scoliosis tends to put undue pressure on your spine causing it to shift sideways. Spondylitis is yet another medical issue that tends to alter the normal position of your upper back.
So, if you suffer from any such medical condition then, it is highly likely that you would have rounded shoulders. I was fortunate enough not to suffer from any such medical issue.
How I Finally Got Rid of My Mom’s Shoulders?
As I now knew that I had rounded shoulders, I realized that it was time to get rid of them. The aches and stiffness on my upper back and neck muscles had become unbearable.
The pain intensified when I sat onto the computer chair for hours trying to complete my official work. So, I decided to include some exercises into my daily routine besides making certain lifestyle changes.
Here is what I did to get rid of my nerd neck and rounded shoulders:
As it was evident that I was in a lot of trauma owing to my nerd neck, it was time I got rid of it. So, I researched and consulted top medical professionals in order to get their views on it.
Here is what I did:
Hit the Gym:
First and foremost, I started to exercise a lot. This include both stretching as well as weight training. I added a lot of mobility exercises targeting my upper back and neck into my exercise routine. For example, shoulder rotation, neck rotation etc.
McKenzie Exercises:
The second option that I went in for was something relatively new. It is called McKenzie exercises. This is a special type if exercise form that is meant to comfort your spondylitis, neck and the upper back muscles.
These exercises helped reduce neck pain, improved my joint mobility, strengthened my spinal muscles and helped me regain my optimal neck/head posture.
I particularly advise McKenzie exercises to people with bad neck posture because they not only relieve the pain but also treat the “main cause” behind the pain.
Kendall Exercises:
Another method that I adopted to treat my nerd neck posture was Kendall exercise routine. This is once again not a very popular method yet, it worked wonders for me.
When I incorporated Kendall exercises into my rehabilitation regime, it helped improve the strength and flexibility of my cervical muscles. It also helped stabilize my neck by reducing NSPR and increasing the angle between the tragus and my C7 vertebrae.
Bad Neck Posture Control:
One of the most important decisions of my life was to improve my bad neck posture. For this very reason, I worked doubly hard to remove forward neck from my daily routine.
I made an effort to look at eye level while walking, running, jogging or playing any sport. I also included swimming as it naturally helps maintain optimal body posture.
I need to confess that my forced attempt to straighten my head and neck caused discomfort and pain in my neck and upper back muscles. Nonetheless, after a month or two all this vanished and I had a better neck posture.
My Conclusive Analysis on Mom’s Shoulders
Mom’s shoulder are really a pain for any individual out there. I was unfortunate enough to suffer from rounded shoulders.
While I do agree, I was to blame owing to my bad posture yet, our jobs requirements and stress levels play a major role in giving us mom’s shoulders.
So, I am not entirely to be blamed for my nerd neck.
Nonetheless, I did all that I could to improve my posture in order to correct my forward neck. At the end of it all, I did make progress by improving my neck posture and reducing my neck pain/stiffness.
In the end I would like to say that, “It is way better to put in extra effort to maintain a normal head posture rather than developing a forward neck and then, spend a ton of effort in trying to fix it.”