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Geriatrics 209 — at a Glance
| Course: | Forward Head Posture & Upper Crossed Syndrome in Older Adults · 2 PACE-approved CE hours |
| Faculty: | Heather Wright, DC, CCEP · Extremity Adjusting Faculty and Acupuncture & Rehabilitation Educator, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with case walk-throughs and assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Forward head posture is the most visible postural change of aging — and one of the most misread, because two very different cervical spines hide behind the same silhouette. An older patient whose head sits forward of the shoulders may have lost the cervical lordosis or exaggerated it, and the two patterns load the discs, facets and posterior muscles in opposite ways, respond to opposite corrections, and can be made worse by the wrong traction device.
Dr. Heather Wright takes the pattern apart: why forward head posture matters beyond the neck (lung capacity, balance, visceral pressure, compression-fracture risk), how to measure it with the craniovertebral angle and Jackson’s angle, how to tell hypolordotic from hyperlordotic presentations at the table, how the thoracic spine, upper crossed syndrome, facet joints and even the feet feed into it, and what to prescribe — adjusting, retraining exercise, creep-based positioning and the strengthening that protects an osteoporotic spine.
Choose Your Geriatrics Path — Four Lanes, One Curriculum
The Geriatrics series runs from the biology of aging outward to the structures it acts on: what changes in an ageing body, how degeneration presents region by region, and how balance, posture, strength and cognition are assessed and rehabilitated. Ten courses, two hours each.
1 · Aging and Bone Health (201, 205)
Why the body ages the way it does, and what happens to the skeleton that carries it — the biology underneath every other file in the category.
205: Introduction to Aging & Longevity
201: Osteoporosis Management
2 · Osteoarthritis by Region (202–204)
Degenerative joint disease worked region by region — spine, lower extremity, upper extremity — with the diagnostic, in-office and rehabilitative decisions that differ at each.
202: Spinal Osteoarthritis Management
203: Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis
204: Upper Extremity Osteoarthritis
3 · Neurology, Posture, Balance and Cognition (206–207, 209)
The neurological and postural side of aging: coordination and fall risk, the head-posture and grip-strength markers that track cognitive decline, and the forward-head pattern itself — measured, classified and corrected. You are here: Geriatrics 209.
206: Coordination & Balance Rehab
207: Head Posture, Cognition and Grip Strength
209: Forward Head Posture & Upper Crossed Syndrome in Older Adults
4 · Strength, Movement and Function (208, 210)
From assessment to intervention — what to prescribe for the ageing patient, how to load it, and how to progress it safely, from whole-body strength training to the degenerating hip.
208: Strength Training for Older Adults
210: Hip Osteoarthritis, Fractures & Impingement in Older Adults
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane.
What You’ll Learn in Geriatrics 209
Explain why forward head posture matters beyond neck pain — its documented links to reduced lung capacity and respiratory muscle strength, balance and fall risk, visceral compression, vision, and osteoporotic compression fracture in the older adult.
Define and measure forward head posture with the craniovertebral angle (normal 48–50°), Jackson’s angle (normal ?20° to ?35°) and a quick external-auditory-meatus-over-T1 screen, and classify the patient as hypolordotic, hyperlordotic or hyperkyphotic.
Trace the hypolordosis cascade — extensor lengthening and weakness, capsular ligament laxity, rising disc pressure and degeneration — and apply the reciprocal-inhibition logic behind upper crossed syndrome: short sternocleidomastoid and pectorals with inhibited rhomboids, lower trapezius and serratus anterior.
Match treatment to the curve: adjusting, stretch-and-strengthen prescriptions and creep-based retraining with the posture pump, Denneroll or cervical bolster for the hypolordotic neck — and why those same devices are contraindicated in the hyperlordotic patient, who needs cervical retraction (“chicken”) holds, thoracic correction and modified traction instead.
Recognize when the thoracic spine, low back, feet and hips are driving the neck — including the evidence that adding forward head posture correction improves outcomes in lumbosacral radiculopathy — and when overcompensating “ropy” muscles or myofascial adhesions will not respond to stretching alone.
Identify facet-mediated neck pain and its referral patterns, and counsel older patients on the downstream consequences of vertebral compression fracture — chronic pain, fall risk, pulmonary decline, malnutrition, depression and a 23–34% rise in mortality — with the dietary-protein and high-intensity strength evidence that protects bone.
Your Geriatrics Faculty
Heather Wright, DC, CCEP — instructor of this course. Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner, Palmer College Presidential Top Graduate and NBCE-licensed acupuncturist, and Extremity Adjusting Faculty and Acupuncture & Rehabilitation Educator at CCEDseminars. She teaches what the clinician can measure, explain and correct in the treatment room — here, the forward-head and upper-crossed pattern of the aging spine.
Donald Ozello, DC, CCN, CCSM — sports chiropractor, founder of Championship Chiropractic in Las Vegas, and Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Faculty at CCEDseminars. He teaches functional movement and rehabilitation for athletes and seniors, and carries the three regional osteoarthritis files (202–204), strength training (208) and the aging hip (210).
Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — Executive Member of the Chiropractic Board of Clinical Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition Faculty at CCEDseminars. He teaches the nutritional and functional-medicine side of geriatric care — the bone, metabolic and lifestyle files (201, 205).
Michael Hall, DC, FIACN — chiropractic neurology specialist, founder of BrainDC.org and Neurology Faculty at CCEDseminars, with more than 30 years of clinical and academic experience. He teaches the neurological files in this category — coordination, balance and the postural and cognitive markers of aging (206–207).
Full bios and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Geriatrics CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Geriatrics coursework is clinical subject matter — assessment, diagnosis and case management of the aging patient — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state’s guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Geriatrics Block
Every course in the Geriatrics series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — all ten on-demand Geriatrics courses together is 20 hours, which clears the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400, with no promo codes. Forward Head Posture pairs naturally with Geriatrics 207 on head posture, cognition and grip strength and Geriatrics 201 on osteoporosis management; the three together reach 6 hours and the 10% tier. Browse Geriatrics Courses
Geriatrics 209 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Geriatrics 209 cover?
Geriatrics 209 works through forward head posture in the older adult end to end: why it matters systemically, how to measure it with the craniovertebral and Jackson’s angles, how the hypolordotic and hyperlordotic types differ, the upper crossed syndrome muscle pattern, the thoracic, facet and lower-body contributors, and a treatment plan matched to each curve. Also known as anterior head carriage or forward head carriage — and, in patient language, text neck.
How is this different from Geriatrics 207 on head posture, cognition and grip strength?
Geriatrics 207 (Dr. Michael Hall) treats head posture as a neurological marker — what it predicts about cognition and biological aging. Geriatrics 209 (Dr. Heather Wright) is the hands-on file: measuring the posture, classifying the cervical curve and correcting it. Many clinicians take both.
Can forward head posture or a dowager’s hump be corrected in an older patient?
Often improved, rarely reversed overnight. Hypolordotic necks respond to adjusting plus creep-based retraining and strengthening of the lengthened posterior muscles; hyperlordotic and hyperkyphotic patients need thoracic correction, cervical retraction (“chicken”) exercises and modified traction, with realistic expectations set for doctor and patient. Roughly two-thirds of hyperlordotic presentations have no compression fracture, so the pattern is usually postural and trainable.
Which devices are shown, and when are they the wrong choice?
The posture pump, Denneroll and cervical bolster are demonstrated for creep-based retraining of the hypolordotic neck — and explicitly ruled out for the hyperlordotic patient, where they push the curve the wrong way. Cervical pillows for sleep, over-the-door traction, a wall-based variant for patients with positioning limits, and the case for orthotics when the feet are driving the pattern are also covered.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Geriatrics series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Geriatrics 209 sits in the posture, balance and cognition lane of the Geriatrics series with Dr. Heather Wright, alongside Geriatrics 206 (Coordination & Balance Rehab) and Geriatrics 207 (Head Posture, Cognition and Grip Strength).
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Geriatrics 209?
Every older patient whose head has drifted forward of the shoulders is carrying a bowling ball at arm’s length — and the neck underneath is either flattening or buckling. Two hours here give you the measurements, the classification and the curve-specific plan to know which, and what to do about it.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)