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Hunchback. Nursing Home Posture. Grandma Hump. Whatever you wanna call it, it is not a good look. Even more importantly, it is terrible for your overall health. As you lose the curve in your neck the process has already begun. I have patients tell me all the time that they notice there shoulders slumping forward or that there head sticks out in front of them. It starts out with what we Forward Head Posture and it can lead to bones shifting out of alignment, muscle strains and spasms, as well as spinal degeneration.

5 Tips To Prevent A Hunchback Posture

1) Stop texting (Yeah Right!)

Okay, I know that is not gonna happen. But seriously, those of you who spend all day on your phone (you know who you are) give it a break. At the very least hold your phone up higher so your not looking so far down. Not only will this help you avoid becoming a hunchback, but it will also help you avoid running into a telephone pole. I’ve seen it happen.

Raise Your Computer Screen

Same concept here. If your computer screen is below eye level (middle of the screen), it’s too low. Those of you who work all day long on laptops are definitely guilty of this. They make ergonomic stands and detachable keyboards. I know. I know. Who’s gonna lug around a laptop stand and plug in a keyboard? When you start looking like your old aunt Matilda just don’t say no one ever told you.

Do Some Corrective Exercises

Wall Angels, Rows, Foam Rolling. Google it! “Forward head posture exercises” Or, if you’re a patient, just ask me. Guys especially seem to let there egos get in the way. You spend a significant amount of time working out your chests and forgetting about your backs. This pulls everything forward and makes things even worse. Just because you can’t see your back in the gym mirror doesn’t mean it doesn’t need some attention.

Reduce Stress

Get rid of it wherever you can. Eat right. Exercise. Terrible Job? Start looking for another one. Unhealthy relationship? Fix it (or end it).

Get Chiropractic Care

Most importantly, regular chiropractic adjustments are vital to ensure you don’t succumb to a hunchback. Getting adjusted will enable your to regain and maintain spinal motion, prevent spinal degeneration and avoid that grandma hump.

Kira, why do you insist on me scheduling a make up appointment if I miss one?

Let’s face it, life can be really hectic. Whether you have meetings that run late, kids schedules to follow, or simply forget your appointment, we still want you to make it up.

Here is why…

When you come into our office for the first time, you and Dr. Greg spend time dissecting why it is you came to see us in the first place. You talk about your aches, pains, maybe a sports injury, even things you didn’t know could be caused by subluxation, such as headaches or allergies. In one way or another, you came to us for help.

We’re in the business of helping people!

I’m sure by now you all have heard the word “care plan” many times in our office. Each one of our patients has a care plan and Dr. Greg sets them according to the care he recommends for you. For some of you this may be 3 times a week, once a week, every other week, or even once a month. These care plans can vary throughout your care with us as we see patients for wellness and corrective care. It is especially important to schedule your future appointments in advance in order to create a sense of a new routine (if you are an entirely new patient) and to continue with a routine if you are a wellness patient. You see, when you make a conscious choice to better yourself FOR yourself and even your loved ones, you tend to have to carve a nice little niche in your life to try and find space… Right? We simply want to hold you to the commitment you made for yourself and your health.

Some of you may have seen little orange slips of paper floating around the office. We call these our Missed Appointment Sheets. Any time you miss an appointment and do not reschedule, or set up a makeup appointment, you should be getting one of these sheets. I will hand it to you at the front desk when you come in after missing an appointment and ask you to bring it to Dr. Greg to discuss being “off your care plan”.

Keeping your plan on track

This is a fairly new practice in the office, but we decided we need to let you all know just how serious we are about your health! If you miss an appointment (during your corrective care phase especially) it can throw off the progress you have made toward achieving or maintaining your health and wellness goals that you and Dr. Greg have discussed. We assure you, these are not meant to be mean spirited, but a way to let you know that your attendance at your appointments is necessary to see the results you are hoping for. The best results will come from a patient who comes to every appointment, does the prescribed therapies and stretches and never skips using their denneroll.

Simply said, help us help you. That is what you came to us for after all. 😉

I get asked all the time, “was that the same adjustment as last time” or “do you adjust the same bones every time.” For many of you, the answer is yes. Especially if you have subluxation and/or degeneration that has been present for a while. Many of the spinal problems I see are a result of years and years of stress. So if it has taken years to become an issue, it would make sense that it’s gonna take some time and energy adjusting the same areas to correct the subluxation (see informative article “What is Subluxation“).

Why We May Adjust The Same Each Time

To use an example, let’s say you have really small biceps. I mean they are puny-looking and weak and you can barely lift your spoon to feed yourself. So now you’ve decided you want really big biceps. Although some accessory muscle work will definitely be helpful here, if you want really large, strong biceps you’d go to the gym and work out what muscle? That’s right. The biceps. And not just once. You have to go repeatedly and work them out over and over if you want to see results.

Well, getting adjusted is the same thing. Let’s say your have neck pain. We find several bones in your neck are not moving correctly and x-ray shows decreased disc space and degeneration. Well, if you want your neck pain to go away (and stay away) we have to work on the problem. So we adjust the same places over and over. Eventually we’ll get motion back and your body will start to hold adjustments better. This is assuming you are diligent with your home care (but that’s another blog post)!

The Role of Stress

Another factor to consider is stress. There are 3 main types of stress:

1. Physical
2. Chemical
3. Mental

Each of us react to stress in a different way. Some of these stresses we can control and some we can’t. Sometimes we can minimize our bodies response to these stresses and sometimes it just happens the way it’s gonna happen.

Preventing The Cause

Imagine you sit at a desk all day long without ever getting up. Years of this has created subluxations and degeneration in your low back that has become very painful. Well, if all that sitting caused those bones in your low back to move out of their proper place shouldn’t we change that behavior? If you come in for your adjustment and then go to work and sit for 10 hours straight then you better believe we are gonna be adjusting that same thing over and over again. Maybe forever! It’s similar to taking an Aspirin for a headache and then banging your head against a brick wall. Duh!?

Healing is different for every person. We may find that in just a few short weeks we are adjusting a different area each time you come in. Or, we may adjust that same pesky bone 3 times a week for 3 months. In each case, though, we closely monitor your progress and educate you on at home care to help the healing process.

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