The Link Between Posture and Brain Function
If you know anything about our clinic, you know we care deeply about posture.
Put simply, the essence of what we do is to improve your posture so your body can function the way it’s designed to.
Most people have some understanding of the role posture plays in pain. When your posture is out of balance, it places extra stress on joints and muscles which often leads to a feeling of discomfort in your body.
What many people don’t realise is just how much posture can influence your overall health and brain function. Recent research has highlighted the impact of forward head posture or “tech neck” on the way your body communicates with your brain.
A 2020 study found that forward head posture may lead to abnormal afferent nerve signals and impaired sensorimotor control. In simple terms, this means the messages the nerves in your neck send to your brain can become distorted.
This is a problem because your brain relies on accurate input from your body to understand where you are in space, a function called proprioception. When that input is disrupted, it can affect your balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and even contribute to motion sensitivity.
The same study also found that forward head posture may influence your autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Your ANS has two main branches:
The parasympathetic system (rest, digest, repair)
The sympathetic system (fight or flight)
Both are essential. However, forward head posture appears to be associated with increased sympathetic activity.
What does that mean for you?
It may cause your body to overreact to everyday stressors or respond inappropriately to normal stimuli, essentially keeping your system locked in to a heightened state of stress when it doesn’t need to be.
Correcting forward head posture is a key focus in our care.
It’s common for people to notice improvements not just in pain, but in balance, coordination, and physical performance. We also frequently hear people say they “feel better within themselves” or “less stressed” after starting care.
This growing body of research reinforces what we’ve observed for years, posture plays a vital role in your overall health, far beyond just aches and pains.
If you’ve been noticing tension, fatigue, or feeling “off,” your posture may be playing a bigger role than you think.
(1) Moustafa IM, Youssef A, Ahbouch A, Tamim M, Harrison DE. (2020). Is forward head posture relevant to autonomic nervous system function and cervical sensorimotor control? Cross-sectional study. Gait & Posture