Neck pain affects a lot of fitness and exercise enthusiasts out there daily. Sometimes it is enough to keep us from working out or even doing simple every day tasks that we were once able to breeze through.
In this article I will give a couple of easy exercises you can do almost anywhere to help relieve your pain.
There are plenty of causes of neck pain according to The Mayo Clinic, such as poor posture, or hunching over at your desk or computer during the work day. But there can be some serious consequences to ignoring this neck pain. If you feel any of the below symptoms to a serious degree, go see your doctor right away.
- Shooting pain into your shoulder or down your arm
- Numbness or loss of strength in your arms or hands
- Change in bladder or bowel habits
- Inability to touch your chin to your chest
Or visit http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/neck-pain/DS00542 for more information.
But if the neck pain you are experiencing is not so serious, look at the below exercises to help you out!
One of the first exercises to do seems almost counter intuitive, but it is know as the shoulder shrug. According to Tweakfit this is meant as a mobility exercise and not a strength building exercise. If your neck pain arises from tight traps or shoulders this should help relieve it in a jiffy.
First assume a relaxed standing position with your shoulders straight about, then simply and slowly pull your shoulders back and up, and repeat. You can put a hot pack on while doing this as well to help relieve any tightness that develops. Don’t over do it though, as you can easily cause more neck pain by over using any muscle, no matter how little weight is being moved.
Another easy exercise to help with your neck pain might look a little funny but TRUST me on this one, this one works! This is known as the Cat or Camel stretch and is often performed in several different types of yoga as a warm up stretch, to help loosen up the muscles in the upper back and neck…
In this exercise you want to position yourself on your hands and knees and have your back slightly arched, stomach closest to the ground, then slowly arch your back the opposite way and focus really on the upper back, and trap area trying to put pressure on it. Don’t flex, but rather apply simple pressure which should help the blood flow circulate better through that area and provide relief. Come back down slowly focusing the whole time on your form and posture. Don’t speed through this one, relax and breathe!
These two exercises should get you started and hopefully you will start to see your neck pain subside. Once you start feeling better start getting back into your normal routine slowly. Keep doing your pull up exercises as this keeps the back strong and allows your posture to straighten, keeping you guessed it…YOUR NECK from hurting.
To see a few more exercises go to http://tweakfit.com/neck-pain-exercises to help you out further.
If you guys have any helpful comments drop them in the box below, I’m sure plenty of readers out there have a sore neck and would love to hear of any and all tips they can get their hands on!
Later this week I will talk about pain killers and why I personally avoid them, but if you really feel like you need them, be sure to take only the recommended dose, and always be wary of the side effects.
. It’s a mind blowing read about survival and it makes you think about a lot of your own habits and patterns.
by Tim Ferris.
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