Forward head posture is a myth | Common pitfalls in cervical postural dysfunction, and its solution 

MAKE THIS GO VIRAL. If I had a dollar for every practitioner that taught me to do chin tucks, pull my head back, strengthen deep neck flexors, I could may for my medical care.

I want to sincerely thank you for posting this free information and articles on your website for those of us who may not be able to afford your consultations at the moment. Thank you !

Thank you! You're the first person to provide me relevant and accurate information in regards to fixing my incorrect posture and head movements.

That tip about sinking in first into the bad posture then doing the opposite helps sooooo much!!! Thank you!

This is pure gold. I had problems with neck hinging and clenching for more than ten years now, but I recently found a cue to make my life way better. I relax the back of my neck as much as I can, which means my head will tilt forward, chin drops. Then automatically my upper back kicks in an brings me into a nice upright position, otherwise I would be looking downwards. From personal experience, I agree with everything you said. Would have loved if any of my therapists could have made those points clear throughout the last ten years, which only took you ten minutes. I currently focus on strengthening my upper back (wall angels etc) and relaxation of my neck, rather than mindlessly building muscles all over the place (as was suggested by some of my therapists). However, I can not stress enough how important the relaxation part is. If you can't get clenching under control, no amount of muscles will help you get better. Keep up the great work, appreciating every minute of it!

Truth- dramatically helped all my symptoms and imbalances. Thanks Kjetil!

Thank you for everything that you do! I have followed dozens on you tube showing ways to correct this. Not one of them mentioned how important it was to strengthen the Longus Capitis and Longus Colli like you have. I was able to release my tight suprahyoid muscles that I have dealt with for 15 years. 2 years ago is when I found your channel. You speak the truth unlike that other guys that tell you to stretch this muscle and that muscle which results in a temporary pain relief because the main issue is because the deep neck flexors are inactive and people just keep watching their channel hoping for a permanent relief view their content over and over like its their savior.

I just wanted to thank you! I booked an online appointment a few years back in college and you solved my nagging neck and shoulder pain. I had tried a lot to fix it. But turns out it was the dreaded hinged neck as well as slouching shoulders. Fixing my posture and strengthening some weak muscles alleviated the pain. I've been pain free since then and can't thank you enough. Cheers!

Your videos are so informative. Thanks as it helps a lot!

That “hinging” descriptive makes all kinds of body maladaptive positions that we fall back on more intuitive. Perfect word Kjetil!! Thank you for sharing your microscopic invaluable knowledge and insights. I am going to work my way through your videos, because you offer explicit education that I have not found on all of the physiatry and physical therapy videos that I have watched.

Wow. 8 years of pain. Gone. This is the information I have been looking for.

This was very enlightening. Thank you.

You are one of the very few who mention the importance of the upper thoracic spine. I appreciate it very much that you address this issue. 👍👍👍 The challenge is to get people to straighten their thoracic spine (instead of pulling back the shoulders).

Hey just wanted to chime in here and say thank you so much for your content. To you this is just almost "common sense" but to people like me, I had no idea that my neck posture strategies were just totally ineffective. Anyways, since following your advice for about a year (I'm 22 now) I've felt the healthiest, and most confident that I've ever been, and my neck and spine are better than ever.

Its only in the last few months have I been able to pick my shoulders with any reliability and no pain. Slowly slowly I can do more but it requires coordination with muscles only recently back under my control. This really helped me understand some small details to create great relief in my neck

Thanks for all the information! I’ve gotten a lot better with your information, pri and getting a tongue tie release. One thing I can’t seem to find an answer to is I have a really tense muscle/ligament in the center of the back of my neck that sticks out when I put my head down, but when I drop my jaw it disappears what could this be? Thanks

This is such an important advice ! I had a chat with one of my physios and she totally agreed after a long debate:-) and watching your previous video about the fallacy of chin tucks🙂

I had to laugh so much with this. Again at 7:20. 😀 RU-vid is full of lengthy videos with advice & suggestions on corrective exercises that you need to make a deep analysis of it. Here we have a man with lots of exerpience giving plain simple, common sense advice. This works for me, I have a laugh, this makes me wanna do this. Thanks MSK NEurology, this is indeed pure gold like another person below commented. Thanks! 🙏

Hey I’m a PT and I always thought the chin tuck +retraction thing always seemed kinda unnatural. Thanks for this you have a new sub

Wow. Great video

Finally what posture we have to follow

How can i strengthen my deep neck flexors without chin tucks? Can you kindly suggest alternatives?

does the hinge neck have the potential to tug on the spinal chord and even cause chiari?

You’re life changing. Wish I wasn’t so off balance though.

had pressure in my left eye blurry vision felt like something was really wrong. 2 minutes into this video and instant relief. ive had bad posture habits while using technology for a while and im assuming this is my issue. thanks bro

Could you do a video on the idea of "using the latissimus dorsi in a benchpress". Can it even be done? And if so, how are you supposed to do it and what function does it produce in the bench press? Awsome content thank you!

dude you are doing god's work. How is there so much misinformation... and why the fuck have I been doing chin tucks for the past 5 years?!?!?!?

Great video, question: when lengthening the neck (not neck tuck), I feel popping/cracking in lower thoracic but no pain. Is this still a good case for strengthening the deep neck flexors/suboccipitals? Still have issues with bobblehead/unstable feelings

Brilliant!!!!

Thank you sir

This works really well but I’ have a question on my right side it’s like caved in /compressed where the rib cage and shoulder are when I breathe in it expands and “opens and I hear cracking” like expansion how do you keep the right side open? Thanks

I have a flat upper back, elevated shoulders and rounded of the cervical spine. Will this help

thank you

I wonder why I feel worse/increased neck strain/activation of SNS putting my head out of mild FHP into long neck position? Is it feasible the FHP could be my bodies way of compensating to help relieve a problem in my neck? eg cervical stenosis

If I raise my shoulders half an inch, wouldn't that cause the clenching as well?

Hey Kjetil.Greetings from a Danish Viking from Israel.I suffer from a herniated disc in the neck c3/c4+c5/c6 rubbing straight on each other.I completely agree that this correct posture is the first step…….do you have a second step for somebody like me? Please Kjetil🙏🙏🙏you may enlighten me😃….by the way.. this video was more valuable than any thing I’ve stumbled upon the last 2 years👏👏👏Thank you very much🙏you’re brilliant✊HIL🍻

5:49 I am wondering if you could clarify about the long neck cue/pulling the back of the head up as the nose comes forward. How do we pull the back of the head up? Is it using some muscle in the neck? Is it sort of “stretching” the head upwards so that spot raises? I’m a little confused about the cue and am wondering if you could elaborate. Thank you so much for all of your content!

I build construction equipment and have to crane my neck down very frequently to work on waist/abdomen level tables and components. Should i hip hinge to keep a straighter spine and neck, or what would be the best practice?

Awesome video! Was just wondering what your thoughts are on nerve glides? Thanks!

Ive found using the cue holding a softball under chin" gets that long neck position without shoving the jaw backwards.

thank you for this! Would some sort of strength training like kettlebells help to strengthen this upper back and chest area?

Hope you are well. So, skinny and have a dowagers hump. Tension in head and neck pain. I realize I have anterior pelvic tilt as well. It seems to me that everything is connected. Do you think through neck exercises, etc one can eliminate this fat on the upper spine? Why does that even come about? It looks terrible. :( Thanks

Im so late to the party, i definitely clench, ive even developed jaw clenching the last few months. Any tips to help me fix that?

Good video

What happens when you recline at 110- 120 degree? Head comes forward? change happens In thoracic or cervical spine

Are cervical extension exercises okay? Do they contribute to cervical hinge? Are cervical flexion exercises (particularly the neck curl) okay? Do they contribute to compression of cervical artery? Are lateral cervical flexion exercises okay? Are neck exercises in general necessary for a strong and muscular neck, or will simply having proper posture be enough for a strong and muscular neck? Does having a muscular/thick neck contribute to sleep apnea?

I have it so wat is it then

I guess I'm one of those 10%, would you say that the clenching is a result of poor jaw and tongue posture? I'm able to somewhat relieve the tension in back of neck by closing the jaw, sealing lips and putting tongue on roof of the mouth (mewing basically?) while elongating like you mentioned.

I have worked on my thoracic and forward shoulders, the X-rays show that my cervical spine is straight at best, and because of it, I suffer from all kinds of neurological issues (foggy brain one of them). Would this help regain the natural cervical curve (my C4 is slide towards the back, just a little) back?, Or do you have a tip on how to achieve that?. Thank you for your vídeos, and of course, for sharing your knowledge. Gracias ✌️

for those who work office jobs which require sitting all day is there a special chair you recommend for this kind of problem?

Hello, great video! How do you get rid of clenching though?

Hey Kjetil! If someone wanted to build a thick neck for bodybuilding/combat sports, what would you recommend?

Thanks a lot; I'd like to see a video about your take on text neck (loss of cervical c curve) I tried neck tractions and all sorts od exercices.

I love the way you presented this. Like " it's me guys just dispelling another industry Bullshit myth" 😂

Could you make a further video on the clenching you mentioned. I finally realized I've been clenching for years. Elaborate on solutions?

Do we need to strengthen or relax longus cap iris and longus colli?

Hi Kjetl, what advice would you give me for treating my neck-tongue syndrome?

Who would I go to to address my cervical thoracic issues that would know this stuff like you. I’ve been dealing with neurological stuff for a yr seeing an upper cervical chiro and a gonstead chiro now. He is helping with my thoracic area but I don’t trust anyone with my neck now

I hope this counts as a quick question. Lol I have some numbness or tingling in my index finger (and sometimes part of my thumb) along with the neck hinge. Could this exercise fix that issue or is this something that absolutely has to be checked out by a doctor right away? It is not constant, but does happen with certain movements. Thanks!

what the pulling back movement of the neck causes? cause everytime i do this i feel a discomfort on my upper traps? is this movement dangerous?

How do we see the thoracic outlet seminar?

What treatment is recommended if your scalenes have a lot of hypertrophy?

Does this cause posterior pelvic tilt or is it the other way around? Can one exist without the other?

hi what is best way to recover from clenching? have benn clenching very hard fow 6 months, have severe headaches and fecial muscels pain thanks

Hi Kjetil, I’m wondering what’s your opinion on restoring neck curve lordosis. There are tons of RU-vid videos for that by towel exercises, Denneroll, or weights, looking up etc. In my experience the more I do it, the worse I get, up to the point that I get very dizzy. I would appreciate if you could share your opinion on this please.

Walk and stand as the top mid point of your head is connected with a string to the sky- is what I’ve learned from Qigong. Which some people understand as tucking the chin, but in reality means to extend the neck with a good neck line.

How u call the predictor of neck pain ?

when attempting proper poster, neck muscles tighten. Also there is pain in the neck and upper back. what am I doing wrong?

your amazing brother thanks for what you do. You have helped me so much with my Massage and personal training practice in becoming a better therapist and Personal Trainer. Wish I could book an appt with you but you are very far away from United States haha.

I read your article on tos. For someone dealing with ntos The most important treatment is posture. You talk about the correlation between depressed scapulae and tos. - breathing pattern to be fixed. Stop purely belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) - supplementary to posture is strengthening of the scalenes. Additionally, if your symptoms exacerbate after the scalene exercises that almost guarantees you’re dealing with tos. I’m 23. With a 480lb deadlift, 385lb squat. To think and find out my scalenes are weak is a shock. ***on the first day of exercise I did 3x12 of scalene exercises you mentioned. Slight symptom exacerbation but recovered after a day or so. How do I keep progressive overloading this ? Adding reps ? Or very very very light weight? ( my starting strength was someowhat decent compared to the clients mentioned in your article) What’s the goal strength of the scalenes ? How many sets and reps should I be able to do without fatigue ? I think my tos has been holding my upper body progress due to the constant ulnar nerve irritation and elbow pain I get. I know you’re probably very busy to read this but I’ll keep updating my progress on your comment section. Please feel free to reply if you have the time. Thanks !

I’m working on the neck cue but I don’t think I can get my back straightened up enough. How can I work on extending the thoracic spine please??

So, if we sit in front of PC with a little thoracic kyphosis, but the neck muscles are engaged and there is no neck hinge, we will be fine?

Is there any clinical value at all for deep neck flexor/extensor training in non-WAD patients or complete waste of time?

Do u have any information about tongue tie and neck and shoulder tension. If you do, please make a video. Also about tongue posture and the balance of teeth, jaw, and tongue rest position.

If slouching causes the head to go forward, shouldn't we fix the slouch which you described as a collapse of the shoulders/midsection?

Thank you for your videos, do you have any advice on how to sleep for the best cervical posture? I have purchased so many expensive pillows and they all seem to make the situation worse, currently sleeping on my back on a yoga mat with no pillow because I wake up straighter

My neck wont come back due to hyperkyphosis AND T1 thru T5 are wedged shaped so the neck bones cannot come back against that brick wall. My upper back is also Laterally shifted to the left and neck also due to the back.. The way the bones grew at an angle forward in my neck it caused C1 thru C7 to have 30 MM of forward translation.. Thats caused me terrible tension on back, neck shoulders head and especially dural tension on cranial membranes. But its also created tension on my vagus nerve because ive started to have trouble with it. I feel like its trapped in the fascia because of the subluxations ive also had my whole life, all the soft tissues grew into that fashion that the fascia made the nerve grow tight with the fascia plus the shoulders pulled tight with the spine to the left PLUS the SCM muscle pulled over tight against the neck bones and tightening the Scm mastoid head very bad. No wonder why my vagus nerve is vulnerable to getting damaged because its pulled over to the side by the spine, fascia, muscles etc plus my vagus nerve could be more shallow in my neck also. Doctors dont agree with me and say its unheard of to damage the vagus nerve by some kinds of neck stretches or strains but it has yet to be discovered. And if my vagus nerve doesn't glide thru my neck because its stuck between the muscles, fascia, spine then it would make sense its vulnerable. I wish i could get doctors to understand the concept. My chiros xrays he took he finally measured all the angles of my spine where no doctor or clinic ever has which upsets me. Doctors think they know everything when there is stuff to be discovered still and they wont listen to me even my chiropractor wont listen to me on stuff their missing in my treatment. they could learn from me, ive had to learn about my own body of why I've felt the way i have my whole life. Doctors are not in my body and no amount of their schooling will make them understand my unique condition.. Maybe rare cases like mine will be learned about eventually.

Is it possible for clenchers to recover after years of clenching?

Can you show some home exercises that can be done independently?

But in "forward head posture" isn't the lower cervical spine in fact "pushed forward" due to lack of or reversed lower cervical lordosis? And the spine compensates this by hinging right at the top of the cervical spine, so that our eyes point forward. So the lower portion of the cervical spine is indeed pushed forward whereas the hinge only happens at the very top of the spine.

Does getting out of the cervical hinge and making yourself long in the neck automatically restore cervical lordosis?

how to keep a good position during sleep to not mess up all the work from the day? I feel like ruin everything at night. Should I wear a neck brace to sleep then?

My neck doesn't go back

This is a communication issue. Yes the head TILTS BACKWARD into extension to compensate for a FORWARD TRANSLATION into lower cervical/upper thoracic flexion in order to maintain a horizontal line of sight. Of course we correct both postural faults, but the forward translation is the root cause.

Do you have a video on excessive cervical curve?

But you have a video titled how to correct forward head posture?

Tror du redder livet mitt med disse videoene!

What do you think about PRI?

Aww, yes this makes sense that the muscles are turned off. This is also why the tissue eventually thickens to stabilize the area. I'm curious if it's possible to fix these necks that have thickened, maybe too arthritic? I don't like pulling the shoulders up it trains the traps too much I prefer to pull the scapula's together and push out the chest, but otherwise, thanks for the informative video!

Can you please do a video similar to this but about "APT is (mostly) a myth"

This guy is a genius

Can Cervical issues cause tinnitus

4:32

4:20

5:10

This guy illustrates Taleb's point: if you want to identify someone in a profession that's really good at what they do, pick the person that doesn't look the part. Most ppl who give advice on these topics are pencilnecks wearing ties and trying hard to look like "serious professionals".

What he is promoting here and other videos and elongating your neck is encouraging a condition called "straight neck" and this is not good either. This is the loss of the natural curve of your neck. I am not sure by doing this all the time it will cause a permanent straight neck. In fact I do not think anyone knows for sure about anything. But what I did find out and many others that chin tucks can be bad if you have certain issues. I had straight neck from my MRI and x ray images I did chin tucks for a year trying to fix it and then I developed kyphosis of the neck which is forward curve.

I've never seen anyone try to fix this bad posture by pulling the head back, sorry.

so the problem is the thoracic spine not the neck

This is 10 entire minutes of what NOT to do followed by how a 3rd party can test for neck clenching and NO helpful treatment for neck dysfunction, not a single stretch or exercise???????