Low Back Pain from Poor Neck Posture

Did you know that the posture of your neck could attribute to symptoms of chronic low back problems? Although the spine is made of 33 individual vertebrae, each one has a complex connection to the others around it. This makes the spine very susceptible to changes due to compensation. When one spinal vertebrae goes out of alignment, your brain and your spine counteract that misalignment by inducing changes in the muscles, ligaments and joints at other levels. Additionally, even though the neck and the lower back are located at the opposite ends of the spine, changes in one can greatly cause changes or compensation in the other.

What the Studies Have to Show

In 2014, a study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics showed the close relationship between chronic low back pain and neck posture. The study included 154 adults who were suffering from not just chronic low back pain, but also had signs of nerve pain down their legs. In addition to this, all the subjects included in the study also had a posture known as Forward Head Posture.

This is when a person’s head no longer sits on top of their spine, but rather sits forward, or in front of, their spine. With this posture, the head now becomes heavier due to the forces of gravity pulling it down. For every inch the head moves forward, that is an additional 10 pounds of force that the neck must carry. Due to this specific neck posture, the rest of the brain and the spine have to compensate for the excess stress on the spine, which the researchers questioned whether this would attribute to the low back symptoms that they were dealing with.

In order to test this, the subjects were not only given rehabilitative exercises for their lower back, but some subjects were also given exercises to improve their forward head posture as well. The results of the study showed that symptoms of lower back and nerve pain significantly improved when trying to correct not only the low back, but the posture of the neck as well. 

Contact a Mississauga Chiropractor Today

This is very important information for practitioners, especially Chiropractors, to take into consideration when improving your spinal health. Your Mississauga Chiropractor is well equipped to not only assess the immediate area of need, but to also see what other structural changes are occurring in the spine that may be attributing to your dysfunction. This will ensure that the proper precautions are taken to make sure that the source of your issue is taken care of, in order to remove any imbalance, compensation and interference on your overall function and health. If you’d like to consult with our Chiropractors about the source of your problems, feel free to contact us at (905)821-4951.

Reference:

The Effect of Adding Forward Head Posture Corrective Exercises in the Management of Lumbosacral Radiculopathy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Moustafa, Ibrahim M. et al.

Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , 167 - 178