Sunningdale Osteopathic Clinic

You must be careful when having your hair washed with your head and neck leaning backwards over the basin if any of the following apply to you ...

• You have a history of pain in the neck, or dizziness, vertigo, sickness or even blackouts, when you do activities involving looking up e.g. changing a lightbulb, looking up at a plane, getting something off a high shelf and so on.
• Having your hair washed while leaning backwards over a basin makes you feel unwell or causes pain in the neck or head, while you are having your hair washed, or even afterwards when you have left the salon!

The reason for all this is that having your neck leaning backwards (what we call extension of the neck) compresses various structures such as joints and blood vessels, and this can cause symptoms (some transient, and sometimes serious). When your neck is healthy and mobile, extension is not a problem. When it isn't, extension can cause problems, especially prolonged extension.

So if you have any concerns over this, ask to have your hair washed while leaning forward over the basin!