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Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#31

I 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…

Like chiropracty and acupuncture, lots of things can help people without actually being true or legitimate. It's likely that rolfing consists of a lot of bullshit and one or two parts that happen to sometimes truly help with something. You're better off doing some barbell exercises and stretching based on a studied knowledge of objective anatomy, but you're also better off going to a chiropractor than doing nothing.

Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#35

I 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…

If the past few years has taught us anything: it is that practices which are not mainstream and designated with a specific insurance code will not be mainstreamed as much as other mainstream practices. Agree with poster saying that rolfing is just one of many approaches to physical alignment. Ultimately people have to move the body and correct imbalances. Just sharing what worked for me. Many of my colleagues and friends, even younger than myself suffer from lack of movement and tight fascia/overcompensation.

Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#36
Yes, absolutely. It does not take too much effort, either.

People who say you need adjust your posture are mostly incorrect. Your body will assume a slouching position after a while no matter what. You cannot consciously will yourself to just "sit better". Good office chair and placing your screen at the right height do help enormously; these are things that make your body adopt a certain posture subconsciously. But they're not a complete fix.

The only real fix is to work out. Bad posture resolves itself over time if you build up strength in your muscles and tendons, all the way from your legs to your neck, the whole shebang. You can think of your body as a piece of rope. If not adequately exercised, the individual strings will start to sag and the rope goes floppy. Training tightens the whole thing into a stable, tight bundle.

You don't need to go full "gym bro" or even enjoy it. But you need to do regular strength exercises — squats, deadlifts, crunches, the usual — every week. You don't need to do super heavy lifting or intense cardio, just a healthy, generalized workout routine focused on the whole body. In theory you can do this at home. But as someone who's patently not a gym bro, the only way I was able to do this is to get a personal trainer.

I found a wonderful gym where they did small, four-person group classes. There are many of these around, and while they may be pricier than regular gym membership, they're worth it. You get a personalized program with a trainer who monitors your progress carefully and corrects your form and technique, and keeps you motivated.

I wouldn't work out on my own as I would find excuses to stay away, but by setting up a regular appointment twice a week, I kind of forced myself into it. And when you have a trainer you see twice a week, it's much harder to cancel just because you don't feel like working out that day.

Lastly: Stretches (like the classic "stand against a wall" tricks you find online) do not work, because you're just temporarily stretching muscles and tendons. These need to be actively worked out in to build up, and stretching can actually be counterproductive. This is one reason why physiotherapists typically don't recommend yoga and Pilates, which put too much emphasis on stretching rather than strength exercises.

Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#38
post #3

Not that I know anything ... but I keep thinking about getting a neck brace and wear it when I work on a computer. Seems like a 'simple' fix ... but I have made that mistake before (as in think it is a simple fix).

The NHS advice is specifically not to wear a neck brace unless it is prescribed by a professional. Wearing a brace would likely weaken your neck muscles further, exacerbating the problem.

Thanks for the advise. I appreciate the warning.

Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#39
post #3

Not that I know anything ... but I keep thinking about getting a neck brace and wear it when I work on a computer. Seems like a 'simple' fix ... but I have made that mistake before (as in think it is a simple fix).

Please don’t actually do this. Forcing “correct” alignment would likely cause more issues.

Thanks for the advise. I appreciate the warning.

Re: Ask HN: Have you successfully treated forward head posture ("nerd neck")?

#40
post #25
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>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.

Even just being a full time student writing, hand cramps were pretty regular for me.

Some desks were more ergonomic like drafting tables, which were at standing height and able to be angled. But the standard business desk you can still find plenty of pre computer examples of in antique shops or photos of historical desks (e.g. einstein) and it is the same height as it is today.

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