Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was hoping to find a video for this exercise, and instead got a video on Peter Thiel. Is that intentional?
Whoops https://youtu.be/gMWBoy3t77k?si=8ACTNYmSQT9uDoE5
Much appreciated!
Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
21–30 of 51 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#22Three bits of advice from having gone through this: 1. You need both stretches and muscle strengthening exercises. 2. Ergonomics while working matter, things like putting your monitor higher will help a lot compared to hunching over a laptop. 3. Consult a physiotherapist. If money is tight then just do a single visit and ask him/her to diagnose and then give you some tailored exercises. You can then do those and migh…
I’m still battling toward head posture myself. One thing that just astounds me is how many people at offices I’ve worked in will use their laptop as their primary workstation. It seems impossible to be able to work on a laptop (no external monitor, no stand for plus keyboard) without being in a terrible posture.
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#23Three bits of advice from having gone through this: 1. You need both stretches and muscle strengthening exercises. 2. Ergonomics while working matter, things like putting your monitor higher will help a lot compared to hunching over a laptop. 3. Consult a physiotherapist. If money is tight then just do a single visit and ask him/her to diagnose and then give you some tailored exercises. You can then do those and migh…
I’m still battling toward head posture myself. One thing that just astounds me is how many people at offices I’ve worked in will use their laptop as their primary workstation. It seems impossible to be able to work on a laptop (no external monitor, no stand for plus keyboard) without being in a terrible posture.
Ergonomics are only very recently hitting the office. When you think about it, the analog office experience was even worse. Reading and writing constantly with the neck craned far lower than even a keyboard would be placed. Exclusive use of one hand, no doubt introducing wear and fatigue in the writing side and atrophy in the side not being used at all really over the work day.
Maybe kids learning handwriting ought to be taught to write ambidextrously just to even out...
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#24Here is the problem with chin tucks and other stretching exercises and why they cannot fix your postural problems: You are performing a stretch to lengthen some parts of your body temporarily (while shortening others).
These stretches and exercises may offer relief from pain and increase your mobility, but they will not help you with the _cause_ of your problem.
If you are using your body ineffectively (e.g., when using a computer), you will be reintroducing pain that you will only try to cure with further stretching and exercise. The solution then, is to learn how to use yourself efficiently in the first place, and operate from a position of mechanical advantage, thus preventing the pain in the first place.
Most people don't even have a consistent/coherent definition of "Forward Head Posture" in the first place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF731f9P1dw [Title: You Don't Have Forward Head Posture]
But this guy has the absolute best tutorial for how to use the human body I have ever encountered: https://www.youtube.com/@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147/play...
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m still battling toward head posture myself. One thing that just astounds me is how many people at offices I’ve worked in will use their laptop as their primary workstation. It seems impossible to be able to work on a laptop (no external monitor, no stand for plus keyboard) without being in a terrible posture.
Ergonomics are only very recently hitting the office. When you think about it, the analog office experience was even worse. Reading and writing constantly with the neck craned far lower than even a keyboard would be placed. Exclusive use of one hand, no doubt introducing wear and fatigue in the writing side and atrophy in the side not being used at all really over the work day. Maybe kids learning handwriting ought t…
> Reading and writing constantly with the neck craned far lower than even a keyboard would be placed
I think desks in the pre-typewriter era were higher than keyboard desks. Professional desks may also have been standing desks.
Also, constantly? Writing on paper has frequent interruptions to grab a new sheet of paper/turn a page in a notebook, to dip one’s quill in an ink bottle, to wait for ink to dry before turning a page, likely also short walks to get new stuff to work on.
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#26I’ve had bad posture since I was a kid (40s now). I gave up until a few years ago because all I ever heard or read was “stop slouching”. So, when I did try to have good posture, I’d end up just puffing my chest out which never felt like something I could sustain. Finally, I randomly came across “chi running”. I never took up running but watching their videos it finally clicked how to actually get myself into a good standing posture: (1) push the crown of your head to the sky as if being pulled by a string (2) engage your core so that your pelvis is level. The core+pelvis part is key for sustaining good back and neck posture. I realized I never engaged my core when sitting or standing. See https://youtu.be/N8VXrv2KVeE?t=95 .
As far as sitting posture, I keep this picture at my desk to re-evaluate my posture https://1-hp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ergonomics-101.p...
Specifically to try to combat the effects of having forward head posture for decades, I do the chin tuck exercise - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09kHVqOx1Hs&t=25s - from the McKenzie method for neck pain/injury prevention (book https://mckenziemethod.com/product/mckenzie-method-treat-you...)
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#27Yes, I successfully fixed it. The fix was about ten years of regular practice of Chen style Taijiquan with good instruction. It’s not a quick, cheap, or easy fix, and it’s pretty hard to find good instruction, but it solved my problem.
It also seems to have solved RSI issues, but that’s impossible to prove.
Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?
#28I would seriously consider visiting a Rolfer. There was a point where due to period of inactivity and stress, I began having issues which started in the neck and migrated to pain in the wrists also. After some adjustments and time totally fine now.
Interesting, I’m glad you shared this as I had to lookup what a Rolfer is and came across Wikipedia’s very critical article concluding that there is no good evidence that Rolfing is effective for the treatment of any health condition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolfing But other sites aren’t so critical but still conclude more research is needed to better understand the safety and risks of Rolfing https://health.cl…
Rolfing is just one technique for the highly effective fascia release domain, which is poorly understood by Western health practitioners.
I enjoy the MELT method
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