PostureCheck

Free test

Forward head posture test

Three ways to check whether your head sits in front of your shoulders: a wall, a side photo, and a live webcam check that keeps watching while you work. The webcam check is right here and takes ten seconds.

Check your posture now

Sit facing your webcam with your head and shoulders in view. Video stays on your device.

Free for 2 minutes a day. No sign-up.

Test 1: the wall test

Stand with your heels a few centimetres from a wall, then lean back so your bottom and upper back touch it. Relax your shoulders and look straight ahead, eyes level.

The wall test shows where your head rests when you stand. It doesn't show what happens two hours into a workday, which is where most forward head posture comes from.

Test 2: the side photo

Ask someone to take a photo of you from the side while you stand normally, arms relaxed, looking ahead. The camera should be at shoulder height and square to your body. Then draw a line straight down from your ear.

In a balanced posture that line passes through the middle of your shoulder. If your ear sits clearly in front of your shoulder, your head is forward. This is the same idea clinicians formalise as the craniovertebral angle: the angle between a horizontal line at the base of your neck and a line to your ear. The smaller the angle, the further forward the head.

Test 3: the live webcam check

The first two tests are snapshots of you standing. Forward head posture mostly builds while you sit and read, so the third test watches you sitting at your desk. Start the check above, sit up tall for three seconds, then carry on working.

PostureCheck tracks two things your webcam can see clearly from the front. When your head moves forward and down, it sits lower above your shoulders and looks larger relative to them. When both change together compared with your upright baseline, you'll see Head drifting forward and a tip to pull your chin back. Hold the slouch past your alert delay and you'll hear a chime.

Everything runs in your browser. No photo is uploaded and nothing is recorded. You get two free minutes a day; Pro keeps watching all day from a floating window.

What to do if your head sits forward

Start with your desk. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration's computer workstation guide says to put the monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away, with the top line of the screen at or below eye level, and describes a neutral posture where the head is level, forward facing and in line with the torso (OSHA, Monitors; OSHA, Positions). A laptop flat on a desk forces your head down and forward, so raise it and use a separate keyboard.

Then build the habit. Posture slips when you concentrate, not when you think about it, which is why a reminder at the moment you slip works better than trying to remember. The sitting posture guide has the full desk setup checklist.

If your neck hurts, you get headaches, or you notice numbness or tingling in your arms, see a doctor or physiotherapist rather than relying on any at-home test.

Forward head posture questions

What is forward head posture?

It's when your head sits in front of your shoulders instead of balanced on top of them. Seen from the side, your ear lands ahead of the middle of your shoulder. It's common after long stretches of looking down at a phone or leaning toward a screen, which is why people call it tech neck or text neck.

What is the quickest forward head posture test?

The wall test. Stand with your heels, bottom and upper back against a wall and look straight ahead. If the back of your head doesn't touch the wall without tipping your chin up, your head is resting forward of your body.

Can a webcam detect forward head posture?

A front-facing webcam can't measure the angle from the side, but it can see the signs: your head drops lower relative to your shoulders and gets bigger in the frame as it moves toward the screen ahead of your body. PostureCheck compares both with your own upright baseline and flags 'Head drifting forward' when they change together.

How do professionals measure it?

Clinicians often use the craniovertebral angle: from a side photo, the angle between a horizontal line through the bony bump at the base of the neck and a line to the ear. A smaller angle means the head sits further forward. A physiotherapist can take this measurement properly and look at the whole picture.

What helps with forward head posture at a desk?

Raise your screen so the top line is at or slightly below eye level, keep it at least an arm's length away, sit back in the chair, and break up long sessions. Chin tucks (gently drawing your chin straight back) are a common exercise, but if you have pain, ask a physiotherapist which exercises suit you.