Look down 60˚ and your spine will carry 60 pounds!

The human head weighs about 7 to 12 pounds, which is about the same as a bowling ball. When you lower your head by about 60 degrees, the first seven vertebrae will bear about 60 pounds (which is like carrying a full suitcase)! If you keep your head in this position for 25-30 minutes, your muscles will start to stiffen – imagine the pressure on your neck and the damage being caused. Since the spine needs to support the head and act as a shock absorber against various forces, it absolutely needs to be protected.

Children Chiropractic Foundation suggest using a towel and doing some “towel exercises” to loosen the joints of your neck, improve neck curvature, and soothe neck pain. Here’s how:

1. Grab each end of a towel and loop it around your neck
2. Keeping your hands even, tilt your head upwards about 30-45 degrees
3. Using both hands, gently pull the towel forward, holding it for 10 seconds

In addition, here are a few tips for protecting your spine:

• Maintain proper posture, sleep more, drink more water, stretch, and do more spine-protective exercises each day
• There are no blood vessels in the spinal column, so you need to drink a lot of water and exercise the spine in order to deliver nutrients and flush waste from your spine
• Exercise can strengthen muscles, but it can’t correct a curvature of the spine. Misalignment will cause the actions done during exercise to be jerky and uncoordinated. Aligning your spine will improve athletic performance

Want to learn more about how to have great posture? Let’s watch as Jacky Chan MChiro of the Children Chiropractic Foundation explains!