What are the four easy way to manage a Text Neck or Forward Head Posture?
Have you ever felt that your head is placed forwards as compared to the rest of your body? Or do you have a hump on the small of your back that just doesn’t go away?  You may have a forward head posture, which is also known as text neck, nerd neck or scholars neck. This is a commonly seen poor posture, which affects a majority of the population. In this blog lets discuss four easy way to manage a Text Neck or Forward Head Posture.
 
When you have a forward head posture the compressive loading on the spine increases, specially your cervical spine and neighbouring areas. Forward head posture can manifest as:
  • Facet joint degeneration
  • Disc degeneration or disc prolapse 
  • Stretching of the ligaments, which means less stability in the spine
  • Pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
  • Neck pain 
  • Numbness or tingling in the arms and/or shoulder blade 
  • Headache
  • Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) 
  • Blurred vision 
  • Compromised respiratory function (due to weakening of the respiratory muscles)
  • Shoulder pain and dysfunction of the scapula as forward head posture enhances rounded shoulder posture, which places additional stresses on the shoulder joint.
  • Tension neck syndrome, which can present as tense muscle in the neck and tension headaches.
Watch this video for three ways to tell if you have a forward head posture:


Here are 4 tips to manage a forward head posture:
  1. Use a pillow that can help to keep your spine in neutral alignment. If your pillow is too high or if you sleep with your head propped up against the armrest of a sofa your head lies in a flexed or bent forwards. This further enhances the FHP. For more details on pillows read my blog here. If you are still not sure about which pillow to use, HERE is the pillow that I use and recommend. 
  2. Make your workstation ergonomically viable. Nowadays most of us are working from home and have been sitting at desks and working on our computers for hours at a stretch. So it is necessary to make some simple posture friendly adjustments to a workstation. Example: Make sure that your feet are not dangling in the air. Use a stool to rest your feet. Use a chair that supports the whole spine and not just the lower back, such that you can maintain the neutral alignment of the spine. 
  3. When using your mobile phone keep the top of your phone five to ten degrees lower than the neutral gaze of the eye. Same rule applies if you are looking at a computer screen. This helps the head to be in a neutral position and helps eliminate forward head posture.
  4. If you carry a heavy bag, switch to using a backpack. Make sure you carry the backpack on both the shoulders. Broad straps can help to evenly distribute the weight on your shoulders. If you have to carry a heavy item keep it near the centre of your backpack to avoid excessive strain on your shoulders. Its always a good idea to clear your backpack regularly to get rid of unnecessary items that add weight to your backpack. If backpacks are not a viable option then you can use a bag with wheels as well. 
 Learn how to achieve and maintain a good posture in the free training: "Posture Tips and Tricks" in my free community HERE.

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1 Comment

  1. Very good advice! Thanks for your help! I need it.
    Swati Prakash AUTHOR  07/25/2022 10:51 PM Central
    Glad it was helpful to you. Feel free to browse around the blogs for more content on this topic. Let me know if you have any questions.

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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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