Which neck muscles are affected by a head forward position?

HEAD FORWARD POSTURE
A head forward posture is characterised by the neck lengthening forward over the chest and the chin slightly jutting out. Typical scenarios where you would see this are: when someone is looking at a computer screen or driving a car. We can also see this as people age and their thoracic spines become very rounded (kyphose) causing the neck to compensate and the head to move forward.

When this happens, all of the head and neck muscles will be affected by this change in alignment, but it can be helpful to think of some specific areas:

THE MUSCLES THAT BECOME LONG AND WEAK
deep neck flexors
upper erector spinae and splenius
middle and lower trapezius

The deep neck flexors that run down the front of the spine and the muscles at the back of the neck (erector spinae and splenius) can become long and weak with a head forward posture.

The middle and lower trapezius muscles can also become long and weak.

THE MUSCLES THAT BECOME SHORT AND TIGHT
suboccipitals
sternocleidomastoid
levator scapula
upper trapezius
pectoral muscles

The sternocleidomastoid, suboccitipals and levator scapula can all become short and tight in a head forward posture.

The upper trapezius muscles when tight pull the back of the head down and the shoulderblades up.

Pectoralis major and minor can also become contracted in some cases.

LOOKING DOWN AT THE PHONE POSTURE
If you watch people when they are looking down at their phones, you will see that this is actually slightly different from the head forward posture described above - the neck lengthens forward, but the chin is not jutting forward, it is pulled in. If you think of Shoulderstand, or Jalandhara bandha, it is exactly the same. This is one of the reasons I don’t recommend Shoulderstand (or Jalandhara bandha) for people who have neck or shoulder issues. The muscles are already overstretched - why stretch them more?

The main difference in terms of muscles, between these two slightly different head positions, is that the subocciptal muscles (these attach the base of your skull to C1 and C2) don’t become short and tight (as in a head forward), instead they may become overly lengthened and strained due to holding the weight of the head (4 - 5kgs) for long periods of time. This can compress the nerves in that area and cause headaches just as much as having tight suboccipital muscles will.

Salamba sarvangasana is not a good idea if you are prone to headaches or have any neck or shoulder issues.

SYMPTOMS AS A RESULT OF THESE POSTURAL HABITS
Both of these head and neck positions can cause various symptoms. Here a a few examples:

• headaches, face pain

• neck pain

• neck stiffness

• reductions in movement in the neck and shoulders

• numbness and tingling in the hands

• sore, aching muscles

The symptoms can be due to various causes also:

• strained, tired muscles

• referred pain from muscle triggerpoints

• compressed nerves (either by tight muscles or mis-alignment of the spine)

If you know you have any of these imbalances in your muscles due to either of these postural mis-alignments, you should work towards creating strength where there is weakness and releasing tight muscles gradually over time.

written by Jean Campbell

Interested in learning more about how anatomy relates to yoga practice?
Have a look at my Online Dynamic Yoga Anatomy Course.