Chiropractor Woodbury MN | Stretches That Help Neck Pain

Stretches that Help Neck Pain Neck pain is, well, a pain in the neck. There are few other minor inconveniences that generate quite so much irritation. Not unlike our backs, we tend to take our necks for granted. The ability to turn our heads is something we rarely think about, until we can’t do it comfortably. Keeping neck muscles stretched and flexible goes a long way to preventing chronic neck pain. Stretching out Those Tight Muscles – Your neck most likely hurts because the muscles supporting your head have gotten too tight. By stretching certain muscles you should not only succeed in reducing your neck pain, you should see in improvement in your range of motion. SCM – The sternocleidomastoid muscle runs, in two branches, from the center of your collarbone to a bone right behind your ear. It helps turn your head and lets you nod. To stretch it, turn your head to one side as far as you can comfortably. Grasp your head with your hands, gently, with one hand on the front facing forehead and one behind the neck to support the head. Gently, using no more than about 20% of your strength, try to turn the head back to forward, pushing against the hand on the forehead. Hold it for about 5 seconds and slowly release the tension. Don’t force your stretch until you feel pain, as there is no advantage to pain. Repeat three to five times per side. Upper Traps and Levator Scap – These muscles make up that triangle you see over your shoulder. To stretch them, lay your head to one side, as if you want to touch your shoulder with your ear. Grasp your head with the arm that corresponds to the side your head is facing. In other word, if your right ear is resting on your right shoulder, use your right hand. As your hand provides resistance, try to straighten the head, gently, with about 20% of your force. Again, hold for 5 seconds before releasing gently and repeat 3 times on each side. All those Extensor Muscles in the Neck – From the little subocciptials to the bigger splenii, these muscles help pull your head back and assist in turning. When you get that tight, painful feeling at the base of your skull, these are the muscles that are firing off pain signals. Bend your neck as far forward as is comfortable. Using both hands, as if you are planning to do a sit up in a standing position, gently grasp the head in both hands. Just as before, gently resist the pull of the hands, as if you want to straighten your head. Use 20% of your force and release slowly after about 5 seconds. Repeat three times. Those three stretches in combination will hit just about all the neck muscles that are easily accessible. As long as your neck pain comes from simple muscle stiffness, you should feel some degree of relief from your neck pain. Realize that most people with tight necks will need to do this set of stretches daily, sometimes even several times a day, at least at first. www.HealthSourceOfWoodbury.com