Many people experience neck pain or stiffness due to poor posture and injuries. Learn how to do the exercises that may help eliminate your neck pain or stiffness.
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Neck pain is a huge issue, and most of us have likely gone through some level of neck pain. When you look at different types of pain, the most common one that people come across is back pain, but probably the second most common is neck pain. Neck pain can occur for numerous reasons. It could be because of some sort of trauma or accident. It could be because of poor posture. It could be doing a related activity repeatedly. With the neck pain, the sternocleidomastoid muscle, it can be tight and sore and painful for several reasons.
1. Tension
We all have muscles where tension and stress all build up. With many people, it’s in the low back, midback or upper neck area. However, some people get that tension in the front of their neck. You need to be aware of that and look at things that you can do to address that tension building up.
2. Teeth Grinding
If you grind your teeth at night, you will activate the sternocleidomastoid muscle, and it will build up tension and lead to neck pain. When it comes to seeing if you grind your teeth, you can ask your dentist next time you see him or her on how things look when it comes to your teeth and based upon their wear pattern.
3. Look at Your Mat Work
If you work out, and you’re doing any type of abdominal work on your back or crunch work, the sternocleidomastoid muscle has to work hard to keep your head in neutral while going through that crunch movement. If your deep stabilizers in the neck don’t have the proper activation, endurance and strength, the larger muscles will override and do the bulk of the work. If you are doing V-sit ups, if you’re doing some type of crunch, full sit-ups and you feel tension throughout that area, look at your technique. Work on keeping your head neutral with the rest of your body, especially your upper body. If you have some difficulty swallowing or if you feel any pain in your windpipe, have yourself checked out by a medical practitioner as it can be a sign of something more serious. You can also support your neck by going through this movement.
Begin in an upright standing position, maintain proper alignment with your head, shoulders, and hips. Bring one hand either cupping the back of your head or neck, taking some of the weight on your head and to give the sternocleidomastoid muscle some break. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement as needed.
Exercises for Front Neck Pain
#1 – Neck Rotations
Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips, and legs. Here, you’re looking for a light stretch in your neck muscles, so rotate your neck to one side. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Neck Rotations
Start with one set of 5 repetitions on each side. Perform the exercise in a smooth, controlled movement with a good stop at the end. The intensity is light. The purpose of this exercise is to work on the range of motion in the neck.
#2 – Sideway Neck Tilt
Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips and legs. Here, you’re looking for a light stretch in your sternocleidomastoid muscle, so rotate your head slightly to one side and lean your neck back gently. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Sideway Neck Tilt
Start with one set of 2 repetitions on each side, holding for 10 seconds. Perform the exercise in a smooth, controlled movement with a good hold at the end. The intensity is light. The purpose of this exercise is to work on statically stretching the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
Reasons why we have back neck pain:
- Poor posture can be caused by poor driving, when you’re working, sitting, watching TV, playing on your devices and doing the same activity repeatedly.
- If you are in the same position for an extended period of time, which can also lead to back neck pain
- If you have poor posture for a long period of time, you can have adaptive shortening in the muscles in the back of your neck.
Exercises for Back Neck Pain
#1 – Chin Tuck
Begin in an upright standing position with your head, shoulders, hips and legs in proper alignment. Slowly bring the chin down and back to elongate and bring the whole head back. Hold the position for 5 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement.
Chin Tuck
Start with one set of 5 repetitions, holding for 5 seconds. Perform the exercise in a smooth, controlled movement with a good stop at the end. The intensity is light. The purpose of this exercise is to work on improving the movement of the neck and vertebrae in the neck.
#2 – Head Tilt
Begin in an upright standing position with your head, shoulders, hips and legs in proper alignment. Drop your chin slowly toward your chest bone and hold the position for 5 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement.
Head Tilt
Start with one set of 2 repetitions, holding for 5 seconds. Perform the exercise in a smooth, controlled movement with a good hold at the end. The intensity is light. The purpose of this exercise is to stretch the top part of the neck.
For help eliminating your neck pain, make sure you check out Neck Pain Solved, here.
