The old admonition from our parents about correcting our posture is good for many reasons.

Although our parents wish for us to use good posture likely did not include our good health, we understand that this is true today.

Our bodies are strongest when they are in neutral alignment, that is, our bodies can function best when they are aligned as intended.

One of the most widespread of poor posture today is a forward head posture. Our daily activities ? computers, TV, video games, desk work, driving the car ? all contribute to us putting our head forward and can cause pain in our neck, shoulders, or even headaches.

Now imagine your head as a twelve to fifteen pound bowling ball. Kind of heavy, is it not?

Holding a bowling ball close to your body for a a little while might be possible, but doing this while the ball is extended even one or two inches continually certainly becomes difficult.

The desired neutral position for your head is aligned over your neck between your shoulders and any deviation from this naturally neutral position creates stress and strain on your neck muscles.

Prolonged strain and pressure on your neck can be bad as a severe automobile accident. As a provider, I have seen this in many, many patients. The discs in the upper part of the spine can become herniated from the unusual pressure and forward positioning. The muscles on the front side of the neck are overworked and shortened while those in the back of your neck is stretched and strained.

It is not good news,but easily avoided. Let me share a secret.

You can make easy changes that can significantly help.

Assessment of your condition is the first step to reduce the neck, shoulder, or upper back aches that you are experiencing.

So before you start doing any exercises, buy that special chair, back support or whatever ? before you spend any money on resolving your problem ? get a professional assessment of your situation. Chiropractors are specialists by training in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of structural disorders of the musculoskeletal system ? a fancy way of saying that they know something about posture.

So get with a Chiropractor that knows his or her stuff to check your posture. This is STEP ONE.

Even before you go see your selected chiropractor, a simple posture check that you can do at home is easily performed to rapidly identify some key issues. To do this check stand with your back towards the wall about six inches away, back up and note which body parts touches the wall first.

1) Head

2) Shoulders

3) Behind

4) Heels

If all body parts did not reach the wall at the same time, your posture could use some adjustment.

By the way, it is easy to pass the test ? all that you need to do is to stretch and strengthen the muscles that are not doing their job.

If you noticed that your shoulders failed to touch first you can focus on stretching your pectoral or chest muscles. Stretching these muscles is as easy as locating a door frame then standing in the doorway and holding one arm up so that the door frame is at the elbow part of your arm, slowly step forward until you feel the stretch across your chest. Repeat this with the other arm. This action will open your chest and your shoulders will no longer be hunching forward.

If your posture includes significant forward head position, your head will not have touched first. This can be corrected by lengthening the muscles in the front of your neck and strengthening the ones in the back with a simple chin tuck. Start by standing or sitting straight up and pull your chin back towards your body using your neck muscles, and hold for 5-15 seconds and return to the initial position.

Performing the correct exercises for your identified postural issues is step two of the solution.

The two steps outlined above are the best way to reduce neck pain for most people. However, if you have had bad posture for a long time, additional treatment may be required to correct the scar tissue and other effects of poor posture built up over the years.

Over time, muscles develop scar tissue that can hinder healing, and stretching and strengthening are not enough. Fortunately there have been methods developed that can address this issue and when used, can remove the scar tissue. Your qualified chiropractor will be able to tell you if the Active Release or Graston technique is right for you.

Now,if your posture has been poor since your mom was on your case you about it, or even if it is something you are noticing by always failing the wall test, do yourself a favor and sit up straight, eat well, get enough sleep and go see a Chiropractor for an evaluation and instruction in the exercises you need. You will be glad you did!