While walking promotes cardiovascular health, it does not help strengthen or attain the best postural position for the head and neck. Let’s take a look at why walking is not the best postural exercise and what you should do instead to improve posture and relieve head, neck, and back pain.
Walking Promotes Forward Head Posture
Although walking can be great for your overall health, it can lead to negative effects on your neck and back. Walking tends to involve looking straight ahead or slightly down, which can cause the head to protrude forward and create strain on the neck and shoulders. This is known as Forward Head Posture (FHP), and it can lead to chronic pain and discomfort. FHP can also affect the alignment of our temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which connects the jawbone to the skull. When your TMJ is not aligned correctly, it can cause pain and dysfunction in the jaw, neck, and back
Aligning Your Neck and Spine
Proper alignment of the neck and back depends on the proper and consistent range of motion exercises to attain muscular strength and stability These exercises will let the head go back to its rightful place down the spine, thus bringing the shoulder backward. With that done the hips and lower back can now go forward and not be extended out where lower back pain and pressure can occur.
All TMJ patients wear a measured neuromuscular orthotic 24/7, including eating, while undergoing treatment. The orthotic distributes measured functional force into the muscles of the head, neck, chest, and back (posture). Proper posture can now be attained because of functional, AW-movement into the posture thousands of times a day. Creating proper posture and bite simultaneously go hand-in-hand with achieving muscle harmony that will affect the whole body.
TMJ Pain & Sleep Center Will Help You Attain Better Posture
If you know you have poor posture and are suffering from neck, back, jaw, or head pain, the specialists at TMJ Pain & Sleep Center are here to help. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Insolera today to figure out the best treatment plan for you.