Assume The Position: Poor Posture, What A Pain!

New computer for Christmas?  Did it come with a bottle of pain pills?  Or at least a guide to proper posture?  If not, you could be headed for neck problems.

Most of us use computers every day, and even when they work properly, they can still be a pain in the neck!

San Francisco State University researchers asked test subjects to sit upright with their heads properly aligned on their necks and asked them to turn their heads. Then they had the students "scrunch" their necks and jut their heads forward. Ninety-two percent reported being able to turn their heads much farther when not scrunching up their neck.

In a second test, 98 percent reported some level of pain in their head, neck, or eyes after scrunching their necks for 30 seconds and the truth is, that's the way most of us move to get a closer look at the screen.

So here's why proper posture is so important.  Physics.   As EurekAlert reports, researchers say when your posture is tall and erect, the muscles of your back can easily support the weight of your head and neck -- as much as 12 pounds. But when your head juts forward at a 45 degree angle, your neck acts like a fulcrum, like a long lever lifting a heavy object. Now the muscle weight of your head and neck is the equivalent of about 45 pounds.  Sounds like a neck ache in the making to me!