Shoulder and neck pain are common, especially if you work in an office or other jobs where you sit in one position most of the day. Slouching and leaning forward strains the shoulders and neck, leading to weak muscles, inflammation, stiffness and soreness. Exercising your shoulders and neck regularly can help strengthen your muscles, improve your posture and relieve discomfort.
Shoulder Exercises
Shrugging your shoulders can help loosen tense muscles and strengthen them at the same time. Stand with your arms at your sides and shrug your shoulders toward your ears while keeping your back and neck straight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand while performing this exercise to further strengthen your shoulders. Hold dumbbells in each hand with your arms at your sides and raise them away from your body to shoulder height while keeping your arms straight to tone and strengthen your shoulder muscles. Work the muscles along your shoulder blades by holding dumbbells in each hand with your arms in front of you and your hands in front of your thighs. Bend your elbows and pull the weights up along your thighs.
Neck Exercises
Stretch your neck by tilting your chin forward toward your chest and holding the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Rotate your head from side to side while keeping your back and shoulders straight to strengthen and stretch the muscles along the sides of your neck and relieve tension. Slide your head slowly forward and backward while keeping your chin level and parallel to the floor to help strengthen your neck muscles.
Considerations
Take frequent breaks to move around, exercise and stretch your shoulders and neck if you sit at a desk or stand in the same position all day at work. Taking a short break once an hour helps prevent your muscles from getting stiff and sore. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise several times a day to keep your muscles limber and improve range of motion. Exercise both shoulders and both sides of your neck evenly to prevent unbalanced muscles.
Warning
Talk to your doctor before doing shoulder or neck exercises if you have a cervical spine condition or a medical condition that affects your joints, bones or muscles, such as arthritis or bursitis. Don't exercise or stretch your neck or shoulders to the point of discomfort or pain. You should be able to feel a light pull or pressure as you stretch and work your muscles, but pain usually means you're overexerting the muscle. This could lead to serious injury.
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