DailyOM: Let's talk about neck hump. What is it exactly and why are many of us at risk for developing it?
Tristan: A neck hump might catch your attention simply because the name is a bit comical, but you'll often hear it called dowager's hump, buffalo hump, or even its medical term hyperkyphosis. It is an insidious condition, meaning it develops slowly over time. The biggest culprit for developing this condition is poor posture when using our smartphones. Nowadays all of us are constantly looking down at our phones for long periods and not paying attention to our neck posture.
When your cervical spine (neck) is excessively rounded, this causes your head to protrude forward. That forward curve is bad for the spinal discs and increases the risk of disc bulging/herniations and neck fatigue. It places extreme pressure on the joint structures and tissues at the base of the neck. It also creates weakening in the extensor muscles of your upper/mid-back and a shortening of your small suboccipital muscles at the base of your skull, which can elicit chronic tension headaches.
Our muscles aren't built to withstand that kind of positioning for long periods, so it can also cause upper and lower back pain and even some difficulty with tightness in the legs due to the fact that all the muscles of your back body. Eventually, your body will create a fat pad and grow extra tissue at the base of your neck to reinforce and protect your neck from injury, which can produce the appearance of a neck hump.
DailyOM: This course provides all the tools to eliminate and prevent neck hump. Tell us about the type of exercises and movements students can expect to do in this course.
Tristan: I've gathered all the most effective strengthening and mobility exercises I've used with clients over the last 10 years as a licensed physical therapy provider to create a holistic approach to preventing and fixing neck hump. Neck hump goes hand in hand with chronic neck pain and poor posture. So we are addressing and preventing multiple issues with one course.
The evidence-based exercises in this course don't focus solely on your neck and upper back; we also target your feet/ankles, hip flexors, hamstrings, pelvis and rib cage positioning, core stability, and of course, the muscles in the front and back of your chest. Imbalance, tightness, or weakness in these areas of the body are common when it comes to poor posture and neck hump.
I'm a big believer in prescribing movements that are easily accessible for anyone and aren't overly complicated or time-consuming. Programs that are effective at protecting and healing the body from conditions like neck hump are often built around a less-is-more approach, which creates better, trackable results than those packed full of different movements that might be awkward, hard to remember, or difficult to discern which are actually helping.
The course also incorporates both static and dynamic stretching, which involves gently mobilizing your body in and out of stretches to dissolve stiffness and muscle tightness. You will also learn how to engage your pelvic floor and effectively activate your core, which is needed to maintain a balanced posture. We also focus on strengthening your back body with simple exercises that can be done anywhere.
DailyOM: How have you laid out this course? What kinds of homework and practices can students expect?
Tristan: The course is meant to be used over a four-week period with your focus each week being on only one video and one set of exercises that you'll use every day for that week. This is because it's important for you to not only master these exercises through repetition but also because your body needs time to neurologically remap your movement, and your tight tissues need time to regain mobility and your weak tissues to regain strength.
It's a balancing act and it takes time, consistency, and repetition. To make it easy and save you time, I created downloadable exercise handouts for each week that you can follow if you feel ready to do them on your own, after using the video the first time. You can even save them to your phone to use anywhere, anytime. Little tools like these help you stay consistent every day with this program and consistency is half the battle.
DailyOM: In this course, you have people take progress photos. Why is this important?
Tristan: As a physical therapy professional, I like to see trackable results, as it not only provides proof that the program is working but also gives you faith that the investment of energy, time, and effort is worthwhile. Photos are also the easiest way to show changes in your posture and overall structure both before you begin the program and after.
I've found that, when you're in the thick of working on the transformation of your body or health, it can sometimes feel like you're not getting anywhere. But progress photos are the best way to combat that, whether you are wanting to lose weight, gain muscle, or transform your posture.
DailyOM: Tell us some feedback you have received from participants.
Tristan: The number one feedback I've received is that many can't believe how bad their posture was at the beginning nor how much of a change they see in it after the program. I have a friend who is a 27-year-old celebrity nail technician in Los Angeles. She spends 7–8 hours a day, 5–6 days a week hunched over her station on clients' nails. She complained of chronic neck and upper back pain, so I took a look at her neck and noticed she was starting to develop a neck hump in addition to stiffness in her neck and upper shoulders and pectorals.
I put together a four-week program for her using the same exercises that are in this course and I asked her to take some posture photos of herself. I remember she texted me, "What is happening at the back of my neck?!" Long story short, she was mortified, but I assured her if she used the program for at least a month she would change her posture and get rid of the neck hump quickly.
Well, 30 days later I got a text from her: "OMG you literally saved me! My neck feels so much better and my upper back pain stopped. AND check this out…" She sent me photos of her before and after and said, "Look no more neck hump!" That's when I knew a course like this would be valuable to put out in the world.
DailyOM: Thanks so much, Tristan! It's clear that many people out there will benefit — both in what their posture looks like but, more importantly, how they feel — with this fantastic course. Until next time, be well.
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