Having a sore neck? Try these stretches and see if it helps soothe your aching neck

Hey ladies of r/xxfitness,

Most of us who sit for long hours in front of the computer will eventually suffer from sore necks and neck pain. This neck pain can cause us to be unable to sleep properly at night.

Some of us simply attribute it to old age and then ignore the pain. Or we just wish for it to go away without doing anything.

The good news is -- you can totally do something about it.

What I have done is I have compiled 7 neck stretches you can do to help soothe that aching neck.

Before I continue, I would like to say I am not an expert, and these are merely exercises that I have compiled after reading and watching enough articles and videos (and testing it out) on neck exercises.

With that said, here we go:

1. Levator Scapula Stretch | GIF

How To Do:
  • Raise your elbow above your shoulder.
  • Rest your elbow on the wall or against the door. This helps rotate the outside of the shoulder blade. Doing both * * Steps 1 and 2 will lengthen the levator scapulae muscle.
  • Turn your head away from the stretching side and bring your chin down. This stretches the back of your neck.
  • To increase the stretch, place your other hand on the top of your head and gently pull your head forward.
2. Prone Cobra | GIF

How To Do:
  • Find a nice comfortable place where you can lie face down (preferably the pantry/gym/home if you want to hide yourself from your co-workers.)
  • Prepare a hand towel (all rolled up) to provide comfort for your forehead.
  • Lie face down and place your forehead onto the towel.
  • Place your arms by the side, and your palms down on the floor.
  • Pinch your shoulder blades together and lift your hands off.
  • Roll your elbows in, with palms out and your thumbs up.
  • Lift your forehead an inch off the towel (keep your eyes straight on the floor, don’t look anywhere else.)
3. Passive Neck Release | GIF

How To Do:
  • Roll up a bath towel.
  • Place the bath towel underneath your neck where it naturally curves. Lay down on it.
  • Tip your chin back and allow the weight of your head (which weighs about 5 kg by the way) to stretch.
4. Chin Tuck | GIF

How To Do:
  • Sit upright, with your spine straightened (you can do this while standing too)
  • Keeping your chin parallel, retract your neck back as far as you can
5. Scalenes Stretch | GIF

How To Do:
  • Hold a bench/chair. This is to anchor yourself so that you can achieve a greater stretch.
  • Raise your head up on a 45 degree angle, keep jaw close, tongue on roof of mouth
  • Face away from your anchored arm and push on your forehead or your jaw to add the stretch
  • Do the other side
6. Yoga-Twist Neck Stretch | GIF

How To Do:
  • Clasp your hand at the back
  • Bend your elbows to bring your hands to your left waist
  • Inhale and sit up tall
  • Exhale and drop left ear towards left shoulder. Don’t shrug
  • Return to centre, then turn your chin to the left.
  • Repeat for the other side by bringing your hands to your right waist.
7. Seated Clasping Neck Stretch | GIF

How To Do:
  • Find a chair (or if you’d prefer, you can use the floor). This exercise can be performed both on a chair or the floor.
  • Clasp your hands together and bring them to the back of your head.
  • Gently press your hands down on your head, towards the direction of your thighs. Tuck your chin into your chest.
Hope this is helpful to you guys and let me know how I can improve!

If you prefer it in video form, you can watch it on YouTube here.
 
@kingofkingsandlordoflords Thanks for sharing!

I just want to add though, if your sore neck isn't going away, maybe go to a doc. Necks love to hurt when something AROUND them is a lil broken...I remember both my broken collar bone and my separated shoulder gave me awful neck pain.
 
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