Woke up with a stiff neck, or stuck looking sideways? Then you came to the right place! Most of us at some point in our lives have all slept weird and woke up the next day feeling some neck pain. Most of the time, this is just part of life and getting moving should do the trick, but if your neck needs a gentle nudge to be pain free, here are some ways to loosen your neck up!
Should I Stretch My Stiff Neck?
WRONG! Well, not all the way wrong, but let’s put a pause on yanking on your neck. The nefarious trap stretch is a common first step in self-solving neck pain, but you could be aggravating that tissue around your neck and causing more pain. Let’s start by rotating or side-bending into the discomfort. That DOES NOT mean to make it hurt more! Instead you want to work into motion. if you do this right you should notice your motion improving while the neck pain or stiffness is decreasing. Desensitizing those muscles around the neck is the main factor in getting motion back quickly and safely. Try doing 10 to 15 to 20 reps at a time, 2 to 3 times per day should be enough to create that change for you.
The Best Exercise For Stiff Neck Relief
This next exercise to help with that stiff neck is called the cervical retraction. Start by sitting straight and your head facing forward. You are going to pull your chin straight back – towards the wall behind you. You won’t get very far and that is okay. Just like with the previous paragraph these are gentle as well. If you do this correctly you will give yourself a small “double chin.” Be sure to not just tip your head down or look up as you are doing these. Imagine a turtle pulling his head BACK in their shell! Starting in front of a mirror may help avoid some of these common errors. 3 sets of 10-20 should help get rid of those nagging symptoms; just like above, also be sure to do these a couple times a day.
Ready to Put an End To Neck Pain and Stiffness?
Gentle motion is key to getting back to normal when it comes to the neck. So, the phrase, “ NO PAIN NO GAIN,” definitely does not apply here. Pulling and tugging on your neck may actually irritate it, so hold off on those common stretches in the beginning, when you are dealing neck pain. If you are still having issues or just cannot seem to get that neck pain/stiffness to go away, give us a call or fill out a contact form!