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

I am struggling with regular tension headaches and stiff neck muscles. When standing at a wall, there is about one hand width between the wall and the back of my head. For my partner it's just a finger width.

I have seen lots of videos that claim to be able to treat nerd neck, but some of them are conflicting. Example: some say "don't do chin tucks", some say the opposite. I am suspicious of grifters and would like to find trustworthy advice.

Has anyone here successfully treated nerd neck, and if yes, how did you do it and what where the improvements that you noticed? I am envisioning some sort of "program" that I need to follow, but I have no idea if I can do this by myself, or if I actually need to go to a physiotherapist.

In short: there is a ton of advice out there, but I trust the HN crowd more and would be very happy to hear some anecdotes. Thank you!

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).

surgery-free, ballroom dance teacher fixed mine with insults and side-eye

I did a while ago, first you've gotta fix your setup so the top of the monitor is at eye level. Then do neck bridges; put yourself with your back against the wall, use the back of your head as support and move your body and feet a bit forward while keeping the back of your head as support, keep your neck straight. You'll feel a burn in the back of your neck. The more angle the more the burn.

https://youtu.be/RXhyx-vVG_Y?si=TiQVGASxnIRPQDTl

Do it for 30s, maybe 3 times a day, you can also move your feet forward for more challenge.

Speaking out of my ass: I'd guess your posterior neck muscles grow weak due to the unnatural posture and your frontal/side muscles overpower them. Eitherways, it works.

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