The time off for the Easter holidays has passed, and we are now back to our regularly scheduled programming at work. You may have noticed that your neck has been feeling tight ever since you went back to work. Before you continue reading, our first piece of advice is to check that your workstation is ergonomic and that you have good posture when you are working before approaching Myotherapy Fitzroy.
If you are still feeling pain after making your workspace more ergonomic, the following neck stretches are some of our favorites that can assist. You will soon discover that these exercises are your best defense mechanism against neck pain. Therefore, the next time you try to procrastinate at work, we urge that you do the following on a daily basis rather than picking up your phone and developing more tech neck:
1. The Head Can Tilt Both Forward and Backward
How to perform this particular stretch:
To begin, ensure that your back is straight and that your head is held high by starting either sat in your chair or standing up.
Bring your chin to your chest while taking slow, even breaths, and hold this position for fifteen seconds.
Bring your chin slowly back up and backward as you do so. Put your chin up toward the ceiling and move the top of your head backwards so that it is parallel to the ground. Hold for a total of 15 seconds.
Bring yourself back to the place where you started.
It should be done 5 times.
A helpful hint is to keep your feet hip-width apart if you are performing this action while standing, and keep your feet firmly planted on the ground if you are doing it while seated.
2 – Side Tilt
How to perform this particular stretch:
To begin, ensure that your back is straight and that your head is held high by starting either sat in your chair or standing up.
Try to get your right ear to touch your right shoulder by gradually tilting your head toward it and keeping your shoulders in their natural position. It is not a problem if you are unable to bring your ear to your shoulder. Just get to the point where you can feel a strain in your neck.
After holding the stretch for five to ten seconds, bring your body back to the starting position.
It will be repeated on the left.
It should be done 5 times.
Tip! If you want to get even more of a stretch out of this move, grab the hand that you are leaning towards and move it to the other side of your head. Make use of this hand to give yourself a gentle pull that will bring your stretch closer to your ear.
3 – Side Rotation
How to perform this particular stretch:
To begin, ensure that your back is straight and that your head is held high by starting either sat in your chair or standing up.
Turn your head to the right very slowly until it is in line with your shoulder. This will bring your head into alignment with your shoulder. You should feel a stretch on the side of your neck and shoulder that is opposite the one you just worked on.
After holding the stretch for fifteen seconds, bring your body back to where it was before.
It will be repeated on the left.
It should be done 5 times.
4 – Shoulder Roll
How to perform this particular stretch:
Instead of the other stretches, try doing this one standing up. Maintain a distance of hip-width between your legs.
Raise your shoulders up and around, rotating them forward in a clockwise motion as you do so.
Make six separate rolls.
Bring yourself back to the place where you started.
Make another set of six circles, but this time roll your shoulders in the opposite direction.
It should take you around 5 minutes to do these stretches, but we are confident that the time you spend on them will be time well spent. If you don't have to strain your neck all day, you'll get a lot more done. These stretches are perfect for folks who work long hours and need something to do during the morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks. You can make the most of your break by relieving stress with the stretches that are listed above while you wait for the water in the kettle to boil.
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