A Familiar Story
Recently, I had an officer worker come into my office looking completely drained. She’d been dealing with headaches and migraines almost every single day for months. She could barely turn her neck as well. They’d start around mid-morning, wrap around her temples, and sit there at the base of her skull all afternoon.
She’d tried everything. Cut out caffeine. Switched pain relievers. Changed her pillow and mattress every two to three months. Nothing worked.
When I asked her to describe a typical workday, she said she sat for eight to ten hours, hunched over a laptop. I noticed immediately that her chin jutted forward and that her shoulders tensed up by her ears. Does this sound familiar to you?
Here’s what I’ve learned after 13 years of practice: poor posture and chronic headaches are connected in a way that most people don’t realize. Once you understand that connection, you can fix the root cause to reclaim your health.
How Poor Posture Affects Your Head and Neck
Your head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds. When it sits right over your spine, where it’s supposed to be, your neck can handle this weight just fine.
However, for every inch your head moves forward, the weight on your neck basically doubles. Meaning, if you’re leaning forward two or three inches while texting or typing, your neck feels like it has to support 20, 30, or even 40 pounds of pressure. It’s literally like balancing a bowling ball on top of your spine all day.
The muscles at the base of your skull also end up working overtime. This causes your upper back to get tight, and eventually, all that tension turns into a headache. All of this is because your body is exhausted from holding up the increased weight of your head.
The sad thing is that most people are unaware that they’re doing it. Bad posture and headaches have become so common that we think it’s just normal when it’s not.
7 Subtle Signs Your Headaches May Come From Posture
Every headache follows specific patterns when posture is the issue. See if any of these sound familiar to you:
- Your headaches start later in the day.
If the pain shows up after hours at your desk or in the car, that’s usually a good indication your headache is connected to your posture. Headaches from poor posture usually worsen as muscles fatigue. - The pain starts at the base of your skull.
The area at the base of your skull is the classic trouble spot for forward head posture. If that’s where you’re experiencing pain, this is telling us that we are dealing with alignment issues. - Your neck and shoulders feel tight.
When you have stiff and sore muscles that won’t relax, this tension often travels right up into your head and stays there. - Lying down makes it better.
When you rest flat on your back, you take weight off your neck. If this helps ease your headache, that’s your body telling you that your posture is triggering it. - You spend long hours looking at screens.
Using computers, phones, and tablets puts your head in a chin-forward position. Headaches from poor posture are common among people who use digital devices. - You catch yourself slouching and jutting your chin forward.
A lot of people notice their posture on video calls or in photos. Or even have family members point out how bad their posture is. Forward head posture is one of the most common triggers of headaches. - Stretching brings temporary relief.
If rolling your shoulders or tilting your head side to side helps, even for a few minutes, relief of the muscle tension indicates a postural problem.
8 Easy Posture Fixes That Can Ease Headaches
Here are some quick and effective ways to support your posture in order to decrease the occurrence of posture-related headaches:
- Get your screen up to eye level.
If you’re looking down all day, this is going to create a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders. Something simple you can do is stack some books under your laptop or get a monitor stand. - Get good lumbar (lower back support)
Often, people’s chairs are not supportive, as they find themselves literally hunching forward. Putting a cushion at the small of your back or a lumbar support will help make sure you sit up straight. - Keep your feet flat.
Dangling feet or crossed legs affect your entire postural and spinal alignment. Keeping your feet flat on the floor helps maintain proper posture and ensures everything is equally distributed. - Move every hour.
Set a timer to stand up, stretch, and walk around for 60 seconds. Breaking up long periods of sitting resets your posture and gives tired muscles a break. - Bring your phone up, not your head down.
Raising your phone closer to eye level instead of dropping your chin decreases neck strain. - Try chin tucks.
Pull your chin straight back like you’re making a double chin. Hold it for a few seconds. Release. Do this several times during the day. This will help to retrain those neck muscles. - Open up your chest.
Tight chest muscles can pull your shoulders forward. Over time, this causes your head to go more forward. Stand in a doorway, put your forearms on the frame, and lean gently forward. Hold for 20 or 30 seconds. Breathe when holding. - Drink water and rest your eyes.
Dehydration makes headaches worse. Also, looking at a screen without any breaks. Making sure you hydrate and take breaks will help decrease the occurrence of headaches.
How Chiropractic Care Supports Posture and Headache Relief
Chiropractic care is more than just pain and headache relief. It is a powerful approach to improving your posture, reducing headaches, and enhancing your overall health.
When a patient comes in with recurring headaches, I always start by examining their spine, especially the upper neck. Small misalignments can trigger a chain reaction of muscle tension, leading to chronic head pain.
Gentle adjustments help realign these areas and take pressure off the surrounding nerves and muscles. Many patients find that their headaches decrease after a few Chiropractic sessions. We also work together on Chiropractic care for neck pain, spinal/postural exercises, and daily habits that keep things improving.
Chiropractic is not a quick fix. It is the combination of getting your spine adjusted, modifying your daily work/home environment, and doing your recommended exercises where people start to notice real and lasting change.
A Real-Life Success Story From My Practice
A few years ago, I began working with a teacher in her early thirties. She’d been dealing with poor posture and headaches for over a year. Having been a competitive dancer as a youth, she attributed the wear and tear on her body to years of this repetitive stress. She’d wake up fine, but by mid-afternoon the pain would worsen and stay through the evening. It was affecting her work, her energy, and her relationships.
After her initial Chiropractic assessment, it was found that there were subluxations/misalignments primarily in her neck. For our care recommendations, we began gentle spinal adjustments to reduce pressure on surrounding nerves and increase mobility in her neck. We also made practical tweaks to her classroom setup by raising her monitor and adding a lower back support (cushion) to her chair. I also taught her some practical spinal and postural exercises she could do throughout the day to support her posture and spine.
Within a month of care, her headaches went from daily to a few times a month. A few months later, they barely occurred at all. She told me she finally felt like herself again. This is what the results look like for our patients: small, steady progress that adds up over time.
What to Expect at Your First Chiropractic Visit
If you’ve never been to a Chiropractor, I can understand how intimidating it can be, especially when you don’t know what to expect. I want to reassure you that your first visit is about understanding what’s going on and figuring out a plan to fix the issue.
Your first visit starts with me doing your health history and understanding the different stressors that may have contributed to your headaches. When did they start? What makes them better or worse? What activities are you unable to do as a result of your headaches? Afterward, we will examine your posture, observe how your neck moves, and assess your spinal alignment. If we need to do further testing, such as X-rays, we will order them to understand better what’s happening within your spine’s bones, discs, and joints.
At your next visit, I’ll explain what I’m seeing and how we can work together to address the root cause of your issue. Adjustments are very gentle, and I can use various techniques to customize them to your comfort. Some people typically start to feel better right away. Others notice gradual improvement over a few visits. Our goal is to correct the root cause and not just treat the symptoms.
Quick FAQs
Can poor posture really cause headaches?
Yes, absolutely! When your head and neck are out of alignment for hours every day, the muscles, joints, and nerves in those areas get stressed. That stress shows up as tension headaches or migraines, which I commonly see in my Etobicoke practice.
Do adjustments hurt?
No, they do not. Chiropractic adjustments are gentle, and I use various techniques to customize them to your comfort. With a manual Chiropractic adjustment, you might hear a popping sound, which is just gas releasing from the joint. Most people find it relieving, not painful.
How long before I feel better?
It depends. Some patients notice improvement immediately after the first or second visit. Others see significant change after a few months of consistent care. The key is staying consistent with your Chiropractic care, doing your recommended exercises, and making the specific changes to your workplace environment. Progress happens, but it’s usually a gradual process.
A Final Word of Encouragement
If you have been suffering from chronic headaches for a while now, I know it is exhausting. You might even be at a point in your life where you are wondering if you’ll always be reaching for pain relievers or cancelling plans because your head hurts.
I am here to tell you that your headaches do not have to be a part of your daily life anymore.
Chiropractic care is a natural, gentle, and practical approach to relieving chronic headaches and migraines. And when you make small shifts in how you sit, move, and set up your workplace in conjunction with Chiropractic care, this is where you will experience real and lasting change in your health.
Contact us now to book your initial assessment at our Etobicoke Chiropractic clinic. Your body was made to thrive, and Chiropractic can help it do just that!
