What To Do About Neck Pain When Squatting

In this video, I wanted to explain what to do if you are experiencing neck strain or neck pain when squatting.

CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.

I had Dorsy demonstrate.

Some people doing the squatting movement are squatting and bringing their heads forward.

Having your head forward puts a lot more stress on the neck ^[1]. When your shoulders are rounded and the head is forward, it puts much stress on the neck.

The human head weighs about 12 pounds. When your head and neck are in good alignment with the rest of your body, your neck can support the weight of your head without a problem. However, as your head begins to bend forward and down, the weight on your neck increases greatly.

If you bend your head only 15 degrees forward, your neck is now supporting 27 pounds. At 30 degrees, this weight is about 40 pounds; at 45 degrees, it is 49 pounds; and at 60 degrees, it is 60 pounds. Unfortunately, this is the position most of us are in when we are texting or working on our laptops. You may have heard this called “text neck,” ^[2] a major problem for many people.

Pistol Squat

If the neck is in this position while you perform a squat, the same principles apply, and you can strain or even injure your neck. Use the modification in this post to help keep your head in line with your neck and back to reduce the strain and pain on your neck when squatting.

Pistol Squat

One alternative is called Pistol Squat. Put your hands together, interlock your fingers, and then retract your thumb and point the index fingers. Put them up against your chest, underneath your chin, and then squat. This lines up the head a lot better while squatting.

Keeping that head in a good alignment is a good cue and feedback. Having the head in good alignment decreases the stress on the neck and decreases the risk of neck pain when doing the squat.

Now, I can’t take credit for that cueing. I saw that in a Facebook Q and A page that Dean Somerset had done. If you don’t know who Dean Somerset is, search the internet, as he has a great blog and an awesome Facebook Q and A page. Also, you can check on some of his work in the Muscle Imbalances Revealed series. He participated and contributed to the Lower Body Edition and the Upper Body Edition.

Final Word

Make sure to swing by ExercisesForInjuries.com. Enter in your injury or pain. There’s a good chance that there’s an article, an interview, or a video to help you overcome your injury or pain.

Secondly, if you’re watching this on YouTube, head up above and hit subscribe. When you subscribe, you’ll get a video like this every couple of days where I talk about tips and tricks on overcoming injury or pain.

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Take care!

Rick Kaselj, MS

If you are looking for a system designed to prevent and treat neck pain, click here to check out the Neck Pain Solved program.