Many Americans spend a majority of their day working at a computer without much thought about posture and how it might affect their lives. People who sit at a computer tend to hunch over with the head hanging forward, the shoulders rolled forward and the arms outstretched trying to keep hands on a keyboard that is out of reach. This combination of postural problems causes excessive stress on the neck and can actually cause muscle strains. Exercises and stretching are the best way to rehabilitate these strained muscles.
Turkey Head
This exercise is actually a chin tuck move. Start by looking straight ahead and put your finger on your chin and push directly backward. When done correctly, the head will glide straight back without moving upward or downward. You should be able to keep your eyes on an object ahead of you at all times. Imagine the movement of a turkey's head. Tuck the chin and hold it for 5 seconds then move the head forward. Do as many of these throughout the day as you can manage. This will strengthen the cervical muscles and help bring the head back over the shoulders.
Range of Motion
The head moves in six different directions and to remain flexible, you must stretch in each direction. The six movements are forward (flexion), backward (extension), tucking the ear to shoulder each direction (lateral flexion) and rotation each direction. A good time to do these range of motion exercises is when you are in the shower and have the hot water on the muscles. Move your head in each direction as far as you can and then take your hand and very gently push yourself a little further and hold for 10 seconds. Be sure to exercise all six directions.
Disco
This exercise combines several movements all at once. It is performed by looking up and away to the right and then down and away to the left. Imagine doing a disco move on the dance floor. At the end of each movement, hold the position for 5 seconds. Do 10 repetitions on each side daily.
Shoulder Retraction
Many of the problems we experience in the neck can be aggravated or caused by shoulders that have rolled forward. A forward rolled shoulder is a postural problem that causes the muscles that attach to our shoulder blades and to the spine to become weak, stressed and painful. Strengthening of these rhomboid muscles is imperative to help bring the shoulders and shoulder blades back into alignment. To do this exercise, stand and bring the arms up to mid chest. Next bring the arms back and squeeze the shoulder blades together, as if you were trying to touch them to the spine. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat these 10 times daily. You will likely find that this exercise causes muscle soreness due to the rhomboids being so de-conditioned. Persevere and they will quickly become strong.
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