Forward head posture (FHP) is a common condition where your head is positioned with your ears in front of your body’s vertical midline. In normal or neutral head posture, your ears line up with your shoulders and midline.

FHP can cause neck pain, stiffness, an unbalanced gait, and other side effects. It’s also often associated with rounded shoulders, called kyphosis.

The good news is that you can usually fix it: Stretching and strengthening exercises along with paying attention to good posture relieves side effects and restores better posture.

FHP is also called “text neck” or “nerd neck,” because it results from prolonged bending toward a computer screen, or hunching over a laptop or cell phone. It’s also associated with the loss of muscle strength in the aging process.

FHP often results from hunching over an electronic device or slumping at your desk to look at a computer screen for prolonged periods.

Studies show that specific stretching and strengthening exercises and manual therapy by a chiropractor or physical therapist can help restore normal alignment of your head and neck and relieve side effects.

Other possible causes of FHP include:

• driving hunched over the wheel for long periods
• occupations that require you to lean forward, such as sewing
• carrying a heavy backpack
• long-term bad posture, such as slouching
• sleeping with your head up too high or reading in bed
• injury, such as whiplash
• accommodation to pain
• muscle weakness in the upper back
• diseases such as arthritis and bone degeneration
• congenital malformation

FHP can change the muscles of your upper back, neck, and shoulder that support your head.

When your posture is misaligned it can overload these muscles and connective tissue. This changes muscle length and strength. The muscles at the front of your neck get shorter and weaker, and those at the back of your neck lengthen and tighten.

FHP also affects the nerves, tendons, and ligaments involved with those muscles.

Side effects may include:

• chronic neck pain
• tight neck muscles
• decreased range of neck motion
• headaches
• back pain
• jaw pain in the temporomandibular joint
• numbness and tingling in arms and hands
• decreased balance control
• muscle spasms
• herniated or other disc problem

Many of the stretches and exercises designed to counteract FHP are simple, and can be worked into your daily routine. Deep breathing can also help your posture.

Here are a few to start with:

Chin tucks

Chin tucks can be done almost anywhere, whether sitting or stan