Know Your Body- Neck

Your neck is made up of over 20 muscles. The common tight muscles include Sternocleidomastoid Scalenes Levator Scapulae Upper Trapezius What movement do they do? These muscles of the neck move your head side to side, turn your head left and right plus bring your chin to chest and to look up. What problems can occur if they are too tight? When your neck muscles become too tight you simply struggle to move your head. When looking left you have to turn your body to get the rotation. Tight neck muscles are a common factor in people who suffer from regular headaches. Where on the body can a tight neck cause pain? When your neck is restricted, you can have pain in your head, shoulder, mid-back, elbow and wrists. Pins and needles can also be a warning sign that your neck is not in an optimum state. How do I know if my neck is too tight? From looking straight ahead, simple lower one ear towards your shoulder. How does that feel? Is it uncomfortable or restricted? Try on the other side. Next, from looking straight ahead, take your chin to chest then slowly look up toward the ceiling. Do you notice any jamming or strong pulls? How does it feel when you look left and right? Is there any pulling on your neck or shoulder? If you said yes to any of those you need to start to improve your neck flexibility. You’ll be amazed how much of difference there is to your comfort and energy levels when there’s no neck tightness. How do I make my neck flexible? The most effective and quickest way is with assisted PNF stretching. Within 30 minutes you are guaranteed to have your neck feeling loose and you’ll have the ability to move your neck without that terrible tight feeling. You can easily over stretch the neck and with that comes more tightness and stiffness. There is more science to stretching than just hold it for 2 minutes. If you would like to have your neck muscles stretched and regain proper movement book an appointment here. Otherwise, heads to the movement library and try this movement to help improve.