Stand up straight! Stop slouching! I cannot tell you how many times I heard my mother tell me that as I was growing up. Unfortunately, this is another thing I have to admit that my mother was right about.

Although our parents desire for us to demonstrate good posture likely did not include our wellbeing, we know this is true today.

Our bodies are strongest when they are in neutral alignment, that is, our bodies can function best when they are aligned as designed.

One of the most common causes of poor posture today is a forward head posture. Our daily activities ? computers, TV, video games, office work, driving the car ? all lend to us putting our head forward and can bring on pain in our neck, shoulders, or even migraines.

Our heads are the heaviest part of our body, as heavy as a bowling ball, and if the head is balanced neutrally, you should be pain free.

Imagine holding that bowling ball out from the top of your body just an inch or two. It might be easy to hold it straight above of your shoulders, but moving it out just a little bit becomes a serious amount of work and the bowling ball gets heavy real soon, does it not?

The ultimate position for your head is therefore a no-brainer and it should be right over the top of your neck and shoulders. And if we hold our heads forward even 1 inch in front of its normal position, our neck has to work quite a lost harder to hold it there (think of the bowling ball).

A neutral head position enables our body parts, such as the vertebrae and spinal discs to do their jobs optimally, but moving the weight out of alignment can lead to disc herniations from the abnormally placed pressure. This misalignment causes overworking the muscles in the front of the neck, and stretching and straining those in the back.

If you are suffering from neck pain, shoulder pain or headaches, it may be from incorrect posture, but there are some steps that you can take to help yourself.

With some understanding of your situation , simple actions can ease your discomfort.

Understanding your problems will come from evaluating your special situation.

The best person to perform this assessment is a skilled chiropractor as they are specially trained for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. This training allows them to properly review your posture and propose solutions.

The first step to your solution is to locate a highly regarded, professional Chiropractor.

Not sure your posture is bad? Then try this simple test to see if you need to correct poor posture. Stand with your back about 6 inches from the wall. Now back up in small steps until some part of you first touches the wall and see which part touches first:

1) Head

2) Shoulders

3) behind

4) Heels

All body parts should have touched at the same time, if they did not, not all is lost, simple stretching, and strengthening actions can help realign your posture.

Your muscles will typically respond quickly to these movements.

If following the wall test your shoulders failed to touch first and your posture appears rounded and slumped forward, you will likely benefit from stretching your chest (pectoral) muscles. A simple stretch for this muscle group involves standing in a doorway and extending your arm so that your elbow is against the door frame, then slowly stepping forward until you feel the stretch across the front of your chest area. Repeat this with the other arm and you should feel your shoulders move into a more open position more easily.

For those whose head failed to touch along with the other parts, a chin tuck can retrain your neck muscles to sustain neutral alignment. This is done by sitting or standing straight and using your neck muscles to pull your chin into a tuck towards your body. Holding this position for 5-15 seconds then returning to starting position will lengthen the muscles in the front of your neck while strengthening the muscles in the back of your neck.

Doing the right exercises to correct your posture is STEP TWO of the solution.

By identifying and addressing the issue and doing the simple stretches is frequently enough to reduce neck pain for most, some long-standing issues require further personalized treatment by your chiropractor.

Along with the discomfort that you have been feeling, sometimes scar tissue builds up in the affected muscles leading to poor pliability of the muscle. Studies has shown that two techniques are available to eliminate scar tissue, the Active Release technique, and the Graston technique. Your chosen chiropractor will know which method is best for your situation.

The old admonition to stand up straight holds true, not only to improve your posture, but also your wellbeing. Professional Chiropractors are available to evaluate you and your posture, give information, and treat you, all in the hopes of improving your overall wellbeing.

Let Dr. Sexton help remove your neck pain. She is a renowned Houston Clear Lake chiropractor helping many people live pain-free. As a special offer, Dr. Sexton is offering 50% off your first appointment with a print-out of this article. Call 281-286-2229 to set your appointment now.

Tags: cervical spine, Chiropractic, Chiropractor, head, headache, Health, live pain-free, neck, neck pain, pain relief, posture, shoulder