Special note: Maintaining a neutral posture, flex your neck to your chin until you gradually feel light resistance, taking care not to overstretch. It is extremely important that you carefully increase the pressure to prevent complaints. Always consult your therapist first for advice on whether this exercise is suitable for your complaint.

Understand what your neutral posture is. Most of the exercises start in a neutral posture. Please read about the importance of posture before starting with any exercise. Click here for more information about posture <LINK>.

List of conditions which may benefit from this exercise

A diagnosis or exercise prescription for the following conditions could only be done by a medical doctor or your therapist. This list has merely been given to discuss with your therapist. Neck strengthening exercises should typically not be done when you are in pain. Do this exercise only when you have recovered from the pain or as preventative care.

• Mechanical neck pain, middle back pain, upper back pain.
• Neck herniated disc, neck whiplash, neck muscle strain, neck sprain.

General tips for neck stretching exercises

1. Frequency: Mobility exercises are effective in reducing stiffness and improving mobility. The frequency depends on your goal. Doing exercises more than once daily is not always necessary. Please discuss this with your therapist.
2. Combine: Don't do only one exercise a time, instead combine them with similar exercises to have a more powerful effect. As an average a total of 3-4 mobility exercises can be advised to be done together.
3. Warming up: You do not need to warm up for this neck exercise, as it functions as a warming up exercise itself. However please perform this exercise slowly.
4. Neck pain: Pain is a warning signal, therefore never ignore pain. Exercises should be done with care since this may worsen your complaint. Do not continue with this exercise if you experience neck pain, please ask your therapist for more information.
5. Speed: Do not hurry. This exercise should be done slowly.
6. Stay alert: Keep your thoughts on doing the exercise rather than performing the exercise automatically.
7. Overuse: Neck pain is most commonly the result of overuse, repeated or prolonged movements of the neck's muscles, tendons, ligaments or joints. This overuse can result in a strain (muscle injury), a sprain (ligament injury), or inflammation of the neck joints.
8. Pillow: Choose the correct pillow to prevent neck complaints. A pillow that is too low or too high may give a lot of extra stress on your neck. Try to avoid sleeping on your stomach. Excessive neck rotation may cause neck problems.
9. Neck pain risk factors: Change your life style to prevent or minimize neck complaints. Even a small postural change can make a big difference. The most important thing to remember is that the best sitting posture is a variable posture. Therefore change your posture every ten to fifteen minutes!

Did you know?

Over 80% of people will suffer from back or neck pain once in their lifetime. Neck pain is the second most common spinal problem. The highest seven vertebrae make up the cervical spine. The cervical spine carries the weight of your head, so it's not suprising that these vertebrae and associated muscles, discs, joints, ligaments and nerves can sometimes be overloaded.