A good posture is not everything, but a bad posture can not only affect how you look but can also affect your health. I'd like to share with you one of the ways you can avoid and prevent neck pain or shoulder strain by making small changes to improve your posture while sitting at the desktop or laptop.

Our lifestyles today involve using not just the computer but also mobile devices that requireus to look downwards very often. When you adopt a posture of bending forward over extended periods of time, muscular and spinal changes can occur in your neck. In many cases prolonged periods of looking down at a computer or using the iPad can cause the straightening of the spine.

While some may not have any symptoms of pain, excessive stress in the absence of the normal cervical curve can lead to accelerated spinal degeneration. If you already have a back or neck pain, then you may realise that stretches, holding your head up straight, using painkillers may only help your condition temporarily or not at all. The reason is that spinal changes from adopting back posture leads to the impingement of a good nervous system. This is commonly known as the pinched nerve syndrome. So the nerve supplying the muscles around the shoulders next or hands can be irritated resulting in reduced muscle tone causing painful trigger points on knots.

I have included a video for our readers to more clearly explain the forward head posture syndrome and how to prevent it by making small but effective changes.

This article is contributed by Dr Timothy Lim.

Dr Timothy Lim BS MS DC is a licenced chiropractor in USA for Lifesystems Chiropractic and a member of The Chiropractic Association in Singapore. He treats patients with postural disorders, slipped discs, neck and back pain syndromes. He is a certified Strength Training physician and provide strength training consultation. Dr Lim was recently appointed by the Singapore Swimming Association to treat our elite national divers and swimmers to treat injuries and improve performance. Http://www.lifesystemschiropractic.com