My Head feels like it weighs about 40 pounds by the end of the day. That statement isn’t too far off the mark considering our heads weigh about 12 pounds and every inch we lean forward creates additional pounds of pressure for our little necks to hold up. Does your upper back seem to be growing out from your back? Do you feel like your head is dropping closer to your waistline? Does your head tip or look backwards when lying flat on your back? Osteoporosis can lead to forward bending of the spine, but then so can sitting in front of a computer or video games too long or texting or driving a lot, improper breathing, weak neck muscles as well as many other medical reasons. Holding up a 12 pound head all day long is serious business. The body adjusts to the weight of the forward head by compressing the front side of the vertebrae, tightening up secondary respiratory muscles and weakening the front neck muscles. The condition is sometimes referred to as Dowagers Hump, kyphosis, hyperkyphosis. The good news is that most of these changes are preventable and reversible.
- Breathing- Learn 3-dimensional breathing to work all around the diaphragm.
- Powerhouse muscles. Are your abs off on vacation or can they do their job? Strengthen the muscles in the abdominal wall, hips and pelvic floor.
- Strengthen the upper back muscles like the rhomboids and the serratus anterior and neck flexors like longus colli. You can prevent issues: pneumonia, falls, depression and others.
Great news: A good Pilates program with comprehensively certified instructors can be just the right fix! Add in some Active Isolated Stretching to open up that thoracic back. Enjoy this article from the leading Pilates company in the world – Merrithew Stott.
Namaste y’all!