Do you want to get rid of text neck?
You’ve likely come across advertisements promising to rectify your forward head posture simply by using a neck brace. This might have left you wondering, “Is a neck brace truly the easy fix to my forward head posture?”
The answer is no. In this article, we’ll explore all the reasons why cervical collars aren’t suitable as posture correction tools.
Table of Contents
The Emergence of Neck Braces for Forward Head Posture
In the past years, posture correctors have gained popularity on the internet and social media. They promise to be an easy solution to improve posture. The next “innovation” using tailwinds from the hype is the neck brace. It is marketed to fix forward head posture.
The reason these products are successful — at being sold, not at helping the customer — is because they promise an easy solution for a common problem. At the same time, they cost relatively little and require no active effort.
Whenever something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
When Are Cervical Collars Useful?
Neck braces, also called cervical collars, are not a new thing. They serve an important medical function for people with neck injuries and other issues. Examples of medical problems they are used for are:
- Trauma and fractures of the cervical spine
- Post-surgical stabilization
- Neck strain or sprain
- Whiplash injury
- Degenerative disc disease or herniated disc
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Torticollis
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Other medical conditions
The Problems with Wearing a Neck Brace for Posture Correction
While the use of a cervical collar can save a life after a bad car accident, wearing one to address text neck is not a good idea for a lot of reasons.
Whether you were planning to use a cervical collar, as used for medical purposes, or a design specifically created for posture correction, the following downsides apply to both.
Ineffective at Addressing the Root Cause of Forward Head Posture
First of all, a neck brace is simply not effective to get rid of forward head posture. It doesn’t work because it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem.
A chronic forward head posture is caused by muscular imbalances. Some muscles in and around your neck are not strong enough to stabilize your head. The deep cervical flexors, rhomboids, serratus anterior, and lower trapezius are often overlooked in many strength training programs.
At the same time, other muscles around your neck, head, and shoulders feel constantly tight. This tightness is mainly caused by the weakness of other muscles that don’t stabilize your head properly.
People also overlook how other body parts contribute to or cause text neck. The problem could start with an instability of your feet and ankles that causes a compromised knee position, leading to an anterior pelvic tilt. This shift of the pelvis leads to an exaggerated arch in your lower back, compensated by an excessive rounding of your upper back. As a result, your shoulders are rolled forward and your head sticks out in front of you.
While a lot of muscular imbalances lead to this very common posture, the weakest link — or at least a contributing factor — might be located in another part of your body.
A neck brace does not only neglect other parts of your body, but is even totally useless in solving the problem of muscular imbalances in and around your neck.
Weakening of the Neck Muscles: Use it or Lose it
Rather than strengthening the muscles in your neck and shoulders, wearing a cervical collar actually weakens them more.
Muscles that are not used or stimulated actively, decrease in size and strength — a process called muscular atrophy. By providing support and doing the work of the muscles in your neck and shoulders, a neck brace weakens them even more.
Have you ever broken a leg and had to wear a cast for six weeks? The chicken leg you had afterwards was a result of muscular atrophy. You don’t want to do this to your neck. Even if you are only wearing the brace for a short part of the day, regular use will lead to weaker muscles.
Reduced Range of Motion
Moreover, any type of neck bracing device limits your range of motion in the neck. That is the main reason to use a cervical collar on people with a fractured neck: Immobilizing the spine.
Using a full range of motion in everyday life is important. A lot of neck pain, stiffness, and discomfort actually is not caused by “bad posture” but by a lack of movement of the spine. While the spine should be kept in a neutral position when carrying heavy objects or placing it under load, it is necessary to move the spine and neck to maintain mobility.
Wearing a cervical collar obviously limits the range of motion. Additionally, regular or prolonged use can also lead to stiffness of the neck and impair the mobility long-term.
Improper Fit and Misuse
If not appropriately sized or adjusted, a neck brace can cause more harm than good by placing the cervical spine in an unnatural position.
If you decide to order a product online, chances are that it will not fit you properly. Moreover, it is possible that you wrongly adjust the device, as you don’t receive professional help in the process.
Discomfort
Wearing a cervical collar is uncomfortable. Depending on the fit and design, it can exert pressure on certain areas of the neck, leading to pain or discomfort. Apart from that, the movement restriction can be agitating.
Simple activities like eating, drinking, and speaking are affected by the neck brace.
If you tend to have sensitive skin, the device can also cause skin irritation due to friction between the material and the surface of your skin. Moreover, in warm environments, sweat can accumulate under the brace.
Social Concerns
Being aware of the brace and the attention it might attract can make you extremely self-conscious if you are someone who doesn’t like standing out. In professional settings, you might be concerned about how colleagues or superiors perceive you.
Dependency and Negative Feedback Loop
As mentioned before, neck braces are not useful in improving forward head posture but actually counterproductive. Wearing a neck brace regularly or for prolonged periods weakens the muscles and worsens your forward head posture.
If you think that the brace will fix your text neck, you could be thinking that you have to wear the brace more often to see results. Seeing the problem become worse leads to a negative feedback loop in which you wear the device more and more while it becomes more challenging for you to keep your head aligned over your shoulders without the assistance.
Alternatives to Fixing Text Neck
If you want to fix your text neck, you cannot avoid physical exercise. There are some tools that can complement your exercise, but none of them are able to do the work for you.
If you don’t exercise regularly yet, every balanced strength training routine will go a long way. Make sure to include compound movements and don’t neglect your back and neck. If you have tried other programs without success, it’s time to upgrade!
Improve your posture in 90 days or get your money back! Our extensive exercise program is dedicated to doing one thing: Fix your posture! While most posture improvement routines only contain passive stretches and mundane exercises that you can’t progress, our program utilizes proven methods from the world of fitness — You can’t improve much without progressive overload. It contains essential compound movements, isolation exercises focusing on often neglected muscles, and mobility exercises.
