A possible cause of headaches and temporomandibular joint dysfunction is poor posture. Proper postural alignment involves having the head, shoulders and hips aligned vertically in sitting, and in standing to also have them aligned with the ankles. This allows the muscles that run from the spine, shoulders and rib cage balance the head on top of the spine. When a person develops a forward head posture (FWP), the head starts to sit in front of that line. This causes some muscles, like the posterior occipatels (small muscles the run from the head to the spine) to shorten or get tight; other muscles, like longus Colli (small muscles along the front of the spine) to get lengthened and weak. This muscle imbalance will lead to movement dysfunction in the cervical spine and potentially in the temporomandibular joint. This dysfunction can become a source of pain and discomfort.

The human head weighs between 10-15 lbs. This is similar to a gallon of water. Think of how much harder your muscles have to work when you hold that pail of water out in front of you, compared to holding it at your side. That is what happens to the muscles in your neck, they have to work as much as 4x harder to hold your head up as compared to when you are in proper alignment.

When muscles are active, they release lactic acid, this is what makes a person feel sore when they start a new exercise program, or do extra work that they are not used to. When the muscles in the neck are working harder, they also release more lactic acid, overtime this may cause your neck to feel stiff and tight.

If you think that your posture is not very good, have someone take a picture of you from the side and look to see how you are aligned, very easy to do. If you are not aligned, try to make the correction and see how that feels. It will probably feel unnatural and might even feel painful as you are not used to being in this position. Your body has adapted to that positon, some muscles lengthen, some shorten, and so it will take some time before this becomes the new normal.

If you need some help with identifying whether your posture is optimal, or whether your posture is contributing the symptoms you may be having, please consult with a qualified, registered health care professional who can help guide through the path to pain free living.

Andrew Neufeld, BMR (PT), Steinbach Physiotherapy