FHP (Forward Head Position) is one of the most common causes of headaches and neck pain.  With a rounded shoulder and FHP, the cervical spine goes into extension, which increases the cervical curve, closes the intervertebral foramen slightly and potentially leads to nerve root pressure.  The facets are compressed which creates increased weight bearing on the cartilage,mdecreasing its lubrication and nutrition and leading to early degeneration.  The joint capsules shorten and develop abnormal crosslinks, leading to loss of normal joint motion.  The tension in the neck area can lead to headaches and neck pain which can affect the quality of an individual affecting work patterns, sleep patterns, and concentration.  The head is actually quite heavy when you think about what it is perched on, how it manages to stay put, and how many muscles, some about the same size as your thumb help keep the head in place and give it all the multi directional movement it has.  It is so important to have good bacak health but also equally important to have good neck health.  Its amazing how a small area of your body, if it has dysfunction, can affect the rest of your body creating stress and anxiety.  Good practices in your daily life can be making sure that your PC if you work with one most days, is as eye level as it can be so that forward head position does not occur.  Taking adequate breaks and not working through lunch breaks is also good practice, and if you are working in an office making sure that you keep up your water intake too as working in an atmosphere with false lighting and heating can affect concentration and stress levels also.  I perform Medical Massage of the Neck area (cervical spine) which greatly helps with eliminating FHP, muscle imbalances, and headache pain.  Sometimes doctors advice people with neck pain not to move their head and neck area so much which is the worst thing to do.  Medical massage can help to release hypertonicity (tightness) is the shfot and tight muscles, broaden the fibres, and faciliate any weaker muscles.  Having bad posture is also a major source of of neck pain.

This article is for information purposes only to guide a client towards the best massage possible.  A couple of my clients have reported a reduction in headaches and neck pain after a couple of massages but if I feel a client has a more acute injury I will refer them onto an injury specialist.