American Chiropractic

A 2014 study published in the journal, Surgical Technology International, explained that the average person spends 2 hours to 4 hours a day with their head tilted forward, reading and texting on smart phones. Forward head carriage adds up to between 700 to 1,400 hours of excess abnormal cervical spine stress per year. A large percentage of people sit all day at their job in addition to time spent sitting on the couch after work watching television, reading, playing games or surfing the internet. Sedentary seating adds up to approximately 13 hours per day for the average person.

Sitting for long periods of time takes a toll on the body. Head posture in comparison to the neck and shoulders influences so many other aspects of health and performance. Forward head flexion for long periods of time negatively impacts whole body function. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, showed that forward head posture (FHP) decreases respiratory functions and increases respiratory accessory muscle activation. Forward head posture leads to high activation of superficial neck muscles, such as the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and upper trapezius, which can lead to SCM breathing patterns, and commonly neck pain and fatigue due to not oxygenating the body well, rather than the much healthier diaphragmatic breathing associated with many health benefits. As forward head deviation got worse, the lung and neck muscle findings and measurements also got worse. Authors concluded the need for maintenance of correct head posture to prevent these functional reductions associated with long-term health degeneration.