Sorry baseball fans this is not the curve you are likely thinking about. I am talking about the curve of your neck. The spine is made up of 24 moveable vertebra bones, while the neck specifically is made up of 7 cervical vertebra, surrounding, and protecting, the brain stem, spinal nerves, and spinal cord. If you were to look at babies when they are in the womb from the side, their spine is shaped like the letter “C”, think the fetal position, which we call kyphosis. Our head is at the top end of the kyphosis curve, while our pelvis is at the bottom. After birth we learn to lift our head and this begins to completely reverse the neck part of the kyphosis curve into what we call a lordosis (at this point our spine shape would be similar to that of a mirror image of a “S” from the side profile). Later as we begin to walk we reverse the lower back part of the spine into a lumbar lordosis, similar to that of the cervical lordosis; the mid back, or thoracic spine, will however maintain some amount of the original kyphosis curve. Being that spinal curvature is formed early during childhood there is a critical window of opportunity to develop these healthy curves; giving opportunity to not properly developing these curves and possibilities of a life time of challenges as a result. As for adults, our job is to support and maintain the health of these curves in our spine. Proper spinal curvatures gives us flexibility, mobility, force or shock absorption, weight distribution, reduced disc pressure, and structural support. Abnormal loss of cervical lordotic curve, otherwise know as straightening, cervical spine kyphosis, military neck, cervical hypolordosis, reversal of cervical curve or straight neck is associated with degenerative changes in the muscles, ligaments, discs, and bones of the cervical spine which in turn will cause an effect on the nervous system.
What is the most common causes of loss of curve in the neck? Hands down poor posture and whiplash are the most common. Other possible causes of the loss of curve in the neck could be degenerative changes, osteoporosis, birth defects, car accidents, slip and falls, sports injuries, head injuries, poor sleeping habits, poor ergonomics, poor posture, and text neck.
Did you know the average human head weights about 12 pounds? That is about the weight of a bowling ball! As we loose curve in the neck the head starts to move forward on the shoulders. Understand that for every inch of forward head posture, this increases work load on the surrounding soft tissues, due to leverage, by an average of 10 pounds. This is why poor posture is such a huge problem. Think about all those hours spent hunched over looking down at your Smartphone or tablet, driving while slouched, etc. Want to test this out? Get a 10 pound weight, bag, or bowling ball and first hold it with both hands near your chest. It’s not to bad right? Now hold the weight out in front of your chest a few inches, and then at arms length, feel the difference? More work isn’t it. Now you understand one reason why that 2 hour drive can make you so stiff and sore in your neck and shoulders, or how after writing that paper on the computer your neck and shoulders feel so fatigued.
What are the most common symptoms with loss of neck curve? Neck pain1, neck stiffness, arm pain, lack of concentration, headaches, nerve pain, radiating pain numbness or weakness into arms, fatigue, back pain, dizziness2, poor posture, reduced range of motion, disc injuries, pinched nerves, increased injuries during a car crash if you had loss of cervical curvature prior to the crash3, thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, reduced range of motion in the neck, shoulder pain, reduced range of motion in the shoulders, difficulty eating or breathing, upper back pain, and more.
What can you do to support, and/or restore the curvature of your neck? In this situation it is best to employ the expertise of a trained healthcare professional to guide you through the process; like a chiropractor or physical therapist. First of all, loss of neck curve is generally diagnosed from radiographs, or x-rays, of the neck. Neck curve can be supported, maintained, and restored but it takes effort and time. You will need to asses, and correct, your movement patterns and ergonomics of your everyday life; including driving position, reading position, workstation ergonomics, sleeping position, standing position, cooking positions, cleaning positions, etc. You will need exercises, stretching, foam rolling, cervical spine manipulation and mobilization, possibly a cervical orthotic devise, and likely cervical spine traction. It takes a complete regimen to restore and maintain the cervical curve, but it is worth it. Appreciate that much like an orthodontist with correcting the alignment of teeth using external fixation like braces, this takes time to first correct and then requires effort to maintain and support, much like what an orthodontist would refer to as a retainer. So don’t take your curve for granted and get out there and correct, support, and maintain your curve.
References
1. Does improvement towards a normal cervical sagittal configuration aid in the management of cervical myofascial pain syndrome: a 1- year randomized controlled trial. Ibrahim M. Moustafa, Aliaa A. Diab, Fatma Hegazy and Deed E. Harrison. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 201819:396.
2.The effect of normalizing the sagittal cervical configuration on dizziness, neck pain, and cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility: A 1-year randomized controlled study. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine 53(1) · August 2016. DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.16.04179-4
3. Stemper et al. Journal of Biomechanics 2005:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15863116