A Pain in the Neck

1. Sitting upright, spine erect, not pushing the rib cage out, let the head fall onto the chest. Feel the stretch from the trapezius (shoulder) muscles on the left and right side of the spine. Hold for 5. Repeat 5 times. With the head on the chest, then rotate the head around, leading from the crown of the head. Let you mouth hang open as the head moves to the back. Repeat 5 times one way. Then 5 times the other way.  Finish with the head held lightly sitting on top of the shoulders.
2. Again, drop the head to the chest. Then placing your left and right hand at the left and right sides of the back of the neck, begin to massage with your fingers up and down, particularly under the skull-ridge. Take the right hand and place it on the left side of the neck grabbing the muscles with your fingers. Repeat on the other side. You can work down to the knotty area of muscle on top of the  shoulders. This is the upper trapezius under which there are a number of muscles attaching the head to the neck and torso. You will feel  where your own tension is! Work quite deeply into the muscles. Breathe deeply.
3. Breathe in and lift the shoulders up to your ears, breathe out and let them drop, feeling the left and right scapular (shoulder bone) sliding down and in as they move down. Pull slightly down at the end of the breath for an added stretch. Repeat 5 times.
4. Keeping shoulders down and not pushing out the rib cage, rotate both shoulders forward ten times. Then backwards 10 times. Don’t arch the lower back. Stay wide in the back above the waist.
5. Sit straight, head upright, making sure your neck is in alignment with your back and your chin is not pushing forward. Arms are hanging by your sides. Flex your left had so the palm is facing the floor, flex your neck to the right so your right ear is moving towards your right shoulder. Push down with the left hand and stretch the left side of the neck a little more. Hold for 5-10 seconds.  Do not force the neck to go farther than is comfortable. Repeat with the right hand, moving the neck towards the left ear.
6. The next exercise is easier if there is no back to the chair so sit forward with your feet planted on the floor avoiding the back of your chair Taking your hands behind you and clasp your fingers together. Keep shoulders down (there is a real tendency to lift here!). Stretch out both arms and lift them upwards keeping hands clasped. Hold for 5-10 seconds.
7.  Lift your left arm above your head and take it behind your left shoulder. Take your right hand down and up your back.  Move the two hands towards each other. Not pushing out the ribcage or arching the small of the back! The left hand and the right hand are attempting to meet.  If this does not happen you can hold a scarf in both hands pulling on it to bring the hands towards each other. Pull the left elbow backwards to stretch the trapezius (shoulder muscle). Look ahead. Breathe. Hold for 5-10 seconds. This is a strong stretch. Repeat on the other side.
8. In this exercises you will strengthen the lower trapezius and serratus anterior which stabilise the shoulders by keeping them down.Sitting straight, bend both upper arms and place your hands on your shoulders. Keep shoulders down. Breathe in and not moving the head, turn to the right . The movement is not large. You will feel a twist in the top and mid part of the spine. Repeat on the other side. Repeat again on both sides.A more advanced form of this exercise is sitting straight and having your arms outstretched on either side. Your lower trapezius and serratus anterior will have to work much hard here. Breathe in, shoulders down and keeping the arms in the same positions (they have a tendency to move towards the direction of the twist), move to the right. Repeat on either side. Repeat on both sides again.

You can take what you want of the above exercises and what feels appropriate to you. 10 minutes of your day can take away hours of sitting with shoulder and neck tension. You will feel better, more positive and more able to get on with your day!

• < Prev
• Next >