Ever seen those guys who’s head and neck are not lined up with their body. Their neck is at kind of a 45 degree angle in front of them, putting their head in front of their body. I’ve seen this in people who lift weights and have read this can stem from a muscular imbalance. Anyone know what kind of imbalance causes this result 'cause I sure don’t want this happening to me.
I read a looong time ago that the muscles in the back of the neck get stretched out over time, and the ones in the front shorten. This is due to reading posture (head forward and down) and various tasks throughout the day that cause us to lean forward. I think the way to combat this problem is to do neck stretches every day, throughout the day, making sure to lean the head back and hit the front of the neck. Also, using a flat pillow (or none at all) will keep the back of the neck from being stretched out at night. Charles Atlas had some good neck excercises you might want to try as well. Essentially, you just use your hands to provide resistance for your neck. For example, you can put your hands behind your head and try to move your head back. Make sure not to overdo it, though, because it could hurt like a bitch if you pull one of those muscles.
Hey, why are you posting about me? My problem is from sleeping on my stomache and poor posture. I’ve been having to go to a chiropractor because of this. My neck no longer has a curve in it. My spine is straight from my shoulder blades to my skull, causing pressure to be put on the area between my shoulder blades. The best thing to do is sleep on you back with a towel rolled up under your neck to promote the natural curve.
Ahhhh! This is something I, as a doctor of Chiropractic, am all too familiar with…most muscular imbalances are attributable to joint dysfunction. The thing most people do not realize is that the joints (mostly in the spine) controll the coordinated efforts of each muscle and muscle groups… You see, through the neurology and the “spinothalamar tract” You have proproceptive imputs from the joints…in the spine you have approx 24 vertebra…each vertebra has approx 10 joint centers with billions of sensory receptors firing off to the cerebellum and mid-brain…notably the thalamus(which is the regulatory unit of the brain AND pain controll center). Of corse, over-developement of muscles CAN contribute to imbalances, as well as pathology…however, MOST muscular imbalances are the result of abnormal joint mechanics created because we are inherently flexable…with the spine having the MOST ranges of motion and flexability of the body…besides the spinal cord and nerve “Roots” smack dab in the middle of the spine, its also the central support beam of the human frame…and as we are walking on TWO legs, as opposed to four, we are MORE prone to inmbalances from joint flexability problems (we term the joint problems as “SUBLUXATIONS”). So, if you want to maintain proper muscular coordination and balance…go see a competent Chiropractor and get your “Subluxations” corrected…
-Dr. Ron
rmdc1
Actually I think Staley mentioned this can come from bad form. I see people assume this head jutting forward position when doing tricep push downs and I sometimes see guys lift their head pretty high when bench pressing (for reasons I’ll never understand).