Neck stiffness and pain may be caused by any number of factors, including poor posture or sitting for too long periods of time. Computer or text neck is also common.
To avoid these issues, it’s important to stretch regularly and take breaks from looking at devices. Here are four neck stretching exercises which may help alleviate and prevent future pain from returning.
Stretching the Front of the Neck
Staring down at your phone and computer for long hours each day can put undue strain on your neck, known as tech or text neck, which compresses neck muscles and nerves leading to pain and stiffness in your muscles and nerves.
To reduce this problem, practice some simple neck stretches. Do these exercises at work or home to alleviate neck pain and improve posture.
Beginning by sitting or standing with a straight spine and your chin parallel to the floor (as if trying to form a double chin). Slowly lower your head as you squeeze shoulder blades together until they pull downward, stretching 2-3 times each week in this way to strengthen muscles in your upper back and neck area. In addition, use the prone scaption stretch for maximum benefit when strengthening trapezius muscle at base of neck through shoulders to middle back region.
Stretching the Back of the Neck
Since neck pain from staring down at electronic gadgets for too long has become so widespread, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has coined it “tech neck.” This condition results from constantly tilting one’s head downward while staring down at devices, leading to stiffness, soreness and other health problems according to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
To prevent neck pain, it’s essential to take several simple precautions. These could include improving workstation ergonomics and scheduling frequent breaks at work; employing specific neck stretches; as well as taking breaks regularly from workstation workstation.
One of the best ways to stretch out the back of the neck is with the Scalene Exercise. To do this, stand upright with hands below collar bone and slowly tilt neck back toward ground until feeling stretch in back of neck. Repeat this exercise throughout your day – more frequent performances will increase support from neck muscles for head and shoulders.
Stretching the Shoulders
Stretching shoulder muscles is vital in alleviating tech neck. To do so, interlace your fingers and gently pull one shoulder towards the opposite side until a light stretch appears in your chest area. Repeat on both sides until reaching an ideal stretch position – then hold for 30 seconds on both sides before continuing your activities.
This neck exercise targets the levator scapulae muscle found at the back of your neck and shoulder blades, stretching it in order to relieve tightness caused by improper posture that leads to neck pain or headaches.
This stretch may appear strange to your colleagues when you practice it at your desk, but its benefits cannot be understated. Stretching the scapulae muscle helps with posture and flexibility while improving range of motion in both the neck and shoulders – two great alternatives to shoulder shrugs which both increase range of motion in neck and shoulders! Regular practice of this stretching method at work or home should help avoid tech neck in the future.
Stretching the Arms
Resisting the temptation of spending too much time on our phones and computers is difficult for many of us, yet to avoid tech neck it’s essential that we follow some basic ergonomic tips such as maintaining good posture, taking regular breaks, stretching out those neck and shoulder muscles as well as strengthening them with exercises such as yoga.
One of the best exercises for relieving neck pain is the corner stretch. This exercise works to loosen pectoral muscles (the group of muscle tissue over your chest). As these can often become tight if we have poor posture, doing this stretch can help alleviate neck discomfort.
This stretch can be performed sitting or standing, in either case your shoulders should be pulled back as far as possible without strain. Repeat several times throughout the day for 20-30 seconds each time; it will help relieve stiff, sore, and tense muscles.
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