How to strengthen neck muscles at home - stop chin poking out
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- This is one of six short RUclips videos which make up a simple home program to pull you out of a painful, hunched upper back and neck and back towards perfect posture. The program consists of one muscle stretch, two support strengthening exercises, two home massages and practical posture.
This home program and a spinal fulcrum called the Backpod were developed in New Zealand specifically to counter the iHunch. This is the hunched upper back driving most neck pain and headache which is now the commonest upper spinal problem in the computer-savvy world. Everyone knows someone who is hunched and in pain.
This isn’t unusual or mysterious - why lots of bending causes problems is well understood. What has exploded the numbers are laptops, tablets and smartphones. These are not like desk top computers - they cannot be set up ergonomically correctly, because you can’t separate their screens from their keyboards. You need to hunch to use them.
So ergonomics, standing desks, etc. don’t help much with this problem. What you can do is treat and look after your spine so it’ll actually handle lots of hunching - over phones or computers or anything else. That’s what the Backpod and its home programme of stretching, strengthening, massage and posture are for.
Most other treatment approaches don’t cover all the bases. Gyms strengthen muscles; yoga stretches them, massage massages them; chiropractors and osteopaths click the joints free temporarily; medications and acupuncture try to suppress the pain but don’t treat the problems causing it. They’re all useful, but they all cover just one part of the problem, so you usually get results that are incomplete and don’t last.
You need to deal to each part of the problem - it’s the collection that works. The simple home programme is in the Backpod’s user guide, available free for anyone to view or download on the Backpod’s website www.backpod.co.nz The full six short RUclips videos (of which this is one) are listed on the iHunch page.
The Backpod and its home programme were developed from New Zealand physiotherapy expertise specifically to counter the iHunch. They are equally as effective for other hunching sub-groups, e.g. dentists, hairdressers, chefs, teachers, cyclists, surgeons, nurses, scientists, dairy farmers, assembly line and garment industry workers, nursing mothers, slouching adolescents, gamers, etc.
It's not just the neck pain and headache. Posture is important - if you want to be noticed when you walk into a room, do it with perfect posture. A hunching posture indicates submission, a lack or self-confidence, not so much worth being listened to. Perfect posture gets attention. (For an inspiring explanation of this, see Dr Amy Cuddy's RUclips TED talk on posture and body language with over 40 million views.)
This collection of six short videos is designed from 30 years of New Zealand physiotherapy expertise to give you the basic building blocks needed to get back towards pain-free perfect posture - and stay there. Good luck with the work.
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
The six anti-iHunch RUclips videos, as listed on the 'Hunch page of the Backpod's website (link is www.bodystance...
(1) The best quick daily stretch for your neck
(2) Home strengthening exercise (1) - for the middle back muscles
(3) Home strengthening exercise (2) - to stop the chin poking out
(4) Neck posture made really simple
(5) Home massage (1) - for neck pain, headache and the iHunch
(6) Home massage (2) - for sore hunching shoulders
Specific comment about this video: This is probably the exercise most overlooked in gyms and otherwise fit people. I think it's because gyms are expecting to lift weights, and this one just uses your head. But that's 4.5kg (10lbs) on average, so that's plenty.
You'll see its weakness all round you, in people whose chins poke out. It can be so weak that you can't actually lift your chin off the ground with your chin poked in, at all. If that's the case, just back off and do the exercise lying on the ground but without lifting your head off at all. When you can hold that for 10 seconds, 10 times in a row, then you're good enough to start lifting the head off a little.
It can take a few or even several weeks for you to be strong enough to lift your head off for 10 seconds, 10 times in a row. But stick with it. It's just muscle - it'll strengthen okay. I had one 95 year-old patient a few years ago, erect and with perfect posture, who could to 10 lifts for 10 seconds each, perfectly. So if she can do it, anyone can.
these were all silly moves... but then I commited to try it for 60 days and I have no more pain on my neck or back. You have to keep doing this though.
Thank you so much for your video. I've been suffering from quite severe neck pain that is the result of both poor sleeping and working positions. Doing these exercises for the past week has really made a positive difference.
how u feel now? did it help?
Thank you! I found your vid bc of your nice comment on Elliott Hulse's vid about FHP. Good stuff! Feel better already!
Hi Nakidz. Thanks - Elliott's really good. I think he's got a better grasp of what goes on than most physios, and I am one. See my comment to Sajjid above. Pass it on! This exercise gets missed all the time - it's basically how to strengthen the anti-chin-poke-out muscles. Cheers, Steve August.
The best neck exercise ever!
Great video on the chin tuck. This should be the foundation of all neck training.
YES! I find gyms concentrate on the big lifting muscles and miss this one specific bit, all the time. Speaking as a physio.
Thanks so much. This is straightforward and clear.
looks nice and simple looking forward to trying this as i feel weaker on one side of neck
I cannot thank u enough! I've been able to straighten my neck for first time in how many yrs/ wish I saw this yrs ago
Hеllо guуууs hеееerее’s hoоw ууууоu саn build musсlеее fаst => twitter.com/ba302b4256445b81d/status/742668391975096320 Hоw to strеngthеn nесk musсlеs аt hоmе
I have a disc problem and tried many exercises to relieve the condition. However, this exercise has been the most simple of them and the most effective so far. Thank you very much Steve.
The best video for neck strenghting
This worked the exact area I been wanting to hit. Awesome
did it help u for good?
Steve, you are a magician
I need to try these out. Thanks for the tip :D! I have favourited the video so I can look back at it if I need to.
Thank u so much Dr..I have been wanting to thank u since a long time for this..I had severe neck pain for over a year..so much so that while sleeping my limbs would go numb..doing this exercise thrice in a day regularly for almost 3 months..feel so relieved of pain nd by God's grace ..there's no numbness too..Thank u so much ..God bless u..want to know if I should continue the same exercise or is there something more for strengthening neck muscles..I'm a mother of 4 kids ..have a hectic daily routine ..would appreciate if u can suggest similar easy nd effective exercises..rhanks
Hi Itsme. I'm pleased the exercise has helped. Well done for sticking with it and doing it - doesn't happen otherwise! Four kids is hectic, all right!
Re what else you can do - since you were weak in those chin tuck muscles, and since strengthening them has helped so much, that tells me you're probably a bit hunched in your upper back. Bending over four children will do that, let alone the rest of life! We built a simple home package exactly for that - the chin tuck exercise is just one of the bits.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod's website - link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit to you, I'd simply get a Backpod and use it and the very simple home program that comes with it; you've already covered the chin tuck part. Actually, have a look at the Perfect Posture page too. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you, that was exactly what I needed! Simple and effective.
"You see people walking around and they look like a crow." Yep. That's me. 😜 Thank you for the video!
Was craking😂😂
BFBF
,
I'm gonna try this!
Such a charming young man
Good job!
Hi, how are you. I was wathing your video and wondering if there is a
way to make the spasm of my neck became less frequency and weaker. I
have a condition called cervical dystonia. I treat it with medication
and botox injections. The remedy gives me a little relief, the botox
hadn't made anything until now. Then I started doing streches os my body
to prevent spasms but in the neck they don't strech. I mem, the muscles
that streches when you do normal execises for neck streches, but I
believe than this spasm is comming for some muscle that are located
somewhere in the neck, but inside, not the muscles we see or exercise. I
would like to know If you have treated someone with this disease,
especially something to reduce these spasms on my neck. Thank you.
Hi Rogério. Sure - it's called toricollis or wry neck where I work. It's very specific what it is. Your C2 vertebra is rotated and sticking like that. That's why you can turn to one side much better than the other. When that happens you get a reflex muscle spasm in the sternocleidomastoid muscles down the front of the neck.
Sure, if you massage the muscles they'll ease off their spasm. But that's not the point. It's caused by the vertebrae underneath the muscles. So it's a C1/2 joint problem, but the reason that happens is because you're jammed at the C7/T1 joint where the neck joins onto the spine, and you're probably a bit hunched as well. Google the word Backpod and have a look at the iHunch page on the website for what to do about it. May need manipulation as well. Cheers, Steve August.
I have a cervicogenic vertigo for past 1 year. Doing these exercises for a while and i think that my condition has improved by 20%. But recently i can see that rightly after doing these exercise, i am feeling more dizzy.
Hi Vinayak. It's highly likely you have the vertigo because your neck is poked and tight with it - this constricts the blood supply up through the neck to your brain, hence the dizziness. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That's the analysis, and the bits you need to cover. The exercise is only one bit of several. Cheers, Steve August.
Wow just tried this . It feels like the neck muscles at the back are so tight . Can hardly move my chin down . Will keep doing it . I managed 5 of the second exercise
👍
Hi Peter. Stick with it - it may take you three weeks before you can do the second exercise 10 times in a row. Anyone can, though.
You'll be fighting against the tight muscles down the back of the neck. So you loosen those by the two home massages and stretch shown in the Backpod's user guide. There's a pdf of the user guide on the Backpod's website www.backpod.co.nz Cheers, Steve August.
Ytr
Hi.. I'm 34 years old. I've severe neck and upper back pain. Specially in my neck and shoulder blades areas. It feels like very deep pain in my left shoulder blade and neck. Doctor has done MRI. But he couldn't find anything wrong. But my pain is soo bad. Even pain killers don't effect my pain. Will this exercise help me or can you tell me anything else that can help me? Please please please help me
Hi Nancy. You haven't given me a lot of information to work with, but on the odds - get a Backpod. The single commonest upper spinal problem in the computer-savvy world is the iHunch. This is the hunched upper thoracic spine (middle and upper back) driving most neck pain and headache. It's mostly driven by much bending over laptops, tablets and smartphones. It's a tsunami, and the odds are that's what you've got.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ Also the Perfect Posture page. We built the Backpod and its simple home program specifically to counter this enormous problem. The video you've commented on is just one of several showing the bits you need to pull a hunched painful spine back towards being painfree and straight again. The full home program is in the Backpod's user guide.
An MRI is essentially a still photo, and can't show whether the spinal joints can move fine or are frozen solid in that hunched position - which is probably the case. Get someone to take a side shot of your head and upper back - it'll give you a good idea. If the MRI's clear, then there's nothing nasty going on like discs, etc. So with the pain you're getting, it's probably what I've been describing, which won't show on the MRI.
The Backpod's a home package covering each bit you need. If it sounds like a fit with what you've got, go for it. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you so much for your reply.
Dr. did x-ray for the whole spine. Nothing came out wrong. Even spine specialist said there is no problem in my spine. Everything is aligned perfectly. I went to therapist he said I've very weak shoulder blades. So I need to strengthen them. I'm doing strengthening exercises. But these exercises give me lot if pain. I feel like I gained little strength. But pain us still there. I can hear grinding noises in my neck and shoulder blades.
I'll definitely check back pod.
Thanx again.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you so much for your reply.
Dr. did x-ray for the whole spine. Nothing came out wrong. Even spine specialist said there is no problem in my spine. Everything is aligned perfectly. I went to therapist he said I've very weak shoulder blades. So I need to strengthen them. I'm doing strengthening exercises. But these exercises give me lot if pain. I feel like I gained little strength. But pain us still there. I can hear grinding noises in my neck and shoulder blades.
I'll definitely check back pod.
Thanx again.
@@nancygoyal4403 Yep, good to know that everything that the MRI and X-ray could show is fine. But they cannot show whether the hinges can move okay or not. The odds are very good they can't. That's why you're getting the grinding and clicking noises. When a joint is moving freely and fully it's silent - like a well-oiled hinge. As they start to get tight they stick and jolt and you get those noises - like a rusty hinge juddering and graunching as it moves. So that bit's not a muscle problem - that's a hinge problem. That means the moving spinal machinery is tight, in spite of the X-ray and MRI being clear on what they can show. That's what the Backpod is ideal for - to stretch the tight bits free again.
Sure, you'll have weak shoulder blade muscles. That's usually part of the problem. But it's not the only bit. People whose business is muscles often miss the underlying spinal part of the problem. As I said, have a look at the iHunch page - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That gives you all the bits that go wrong and why, and the small collection of bits you need to correct them, including home massage. They're all in the Backpod's user guide. A single bit on its own, like you're muscle strengthening, usually doesn't work. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 thanx I'll definitely try that.
Really great video this, and important. I think most people would benefit from doing this throughout the day too especially if they work at a computer or anything with extended periods of being hunched over/leaning forward/looking down etc. which is basically EVERY profession out there. Could also do the chin tucks seated and standing ever so often I guess?
I have a question regarding this video, does the amount of time you rest in between these sets matter?
Thanks!
Yep - I think it's important too. Look around you - how many people do you see with their chins poking out and their back hunched. We call it the iHunch - Google 'Backpod' and have a look at the iHunch page. That's got the New Zealand analysis of exactly what you need to counter it.
Re the rest in between the each exercise set - it's not too importanant. It's just to let the lactic acid from the muscle contractions diffuse away. The important bit is actually doing the exercises..
Cheers, Steve August.
For combat sports anybody?
yes. Boxing here
Is there a way to slim the neck muscles, if they get too bulky? I have that problem :( .
I have PCS I did some stretches and have increased headaches, fatigue, tinnitus, huge light sensitive.
This looks like it was filmed in the '80s I hope this old guy is still alive
So far..
Thanks alot for these..are these OK for disc bulge in cervical region and slight straightened spine.
Hi. I can't say definitely - depends on how bad the disc is, and what your spine's like more generally. Usually though, this exercise is safe and fine. It's only quietly working and strengthening the muscles around the front of the neck while you're keeping the neck in a neutral position - it's pretty benign. All you're doing is working towards keeping your neck in a more correct upright position.
But if you're not sure, check with your doctor who'll have a more accurate understanding of how your neck is.
thank you so much!
I can’t even do these without having extreme pain the next day
works wonders!
Thanks for the video. I played tennis for several years and now, looking at my neck, it looks imbalanced pretty much with the right side much stronger than the left side. Do you think I should focus on doing this exercise to train the weaker part to balance the neck? I am worried about getting worse doing this.Thank you for your advice.
Hi Michele. Mm - generally you probably want the whole small collection of strengthening, stretching, massage, etc. shown on the iHunch page of the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That's the analysis, and the bits you need to cover. However for the specific imbalance of one side versus the other, you're probably best to see a physio to check out if there's something specific beyond just the tennis causing it - such as a leg length difference, say. Cheers, Steve August.
I have a really thin noodle neck for my very much squared jaw , could bad posture have contributed to it? Can this exercise help in thickening my neck to normal width for my face? I have started doing neck curls btw. Thanks in advance
Yo! I can’t thank you enough. I had tried everything to make my voice sound like it’s supposed to, to no avail. I already was breathing into my belly, my testosterone levels are sky high and many other advices people gave for a better voice. After watching this video I discovered the real reason my voice sounded like I wasn’t confident(even when I had the confidence of 10 lions) was because of my neck. Just after using your exercise for a day my voice is already making girls wet and even offering to give me their numbers when I intentionally approach without asking for their contact. You truly are a life saver!
Hi David. It's an aspect I hadn't thought through but go for it. Posture makes an enormous difference to the message body language sends, and holding your chin in is part of that posture. Have a look at the Perfect Posture page on the Backpod's website www.backpod.co.nz. That gives you the wider picture - of which this chin-in video is only one component - and it matters. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi, thanks for this video - I've been diagnosed with ligamentous laxity (joint hypermobility) and have suffered with lower back and neck problems for years. I've read I should be performing stability / strength exercises versus stretching as I'm already really stretchy! does this sound right?
Hi Michael. Yes, completely right. Cheers, Steve August.
Will this make my double chin worse?
I've been getting lower jaw pain. I've been doing these exercises, 10 reps for 10 seconds each. Is there a way to minimize these pains? I'm trying hard to visualize your instructions in my head while I do them, but I still am getting these jaw pains.
Hi Kola. If you're still getting problems, it could still simply be that you're tight on the sternomastoid muscles along the front of your neck. They do affect the jaw. you could try a gentle massage on them and see if that clears the problem. Cheers, Steve August.
Silly it may sound but this wont cause you to get a double chin if you do this chin exercise will it? I would hope not
No - rather the reverse. If you get your neck back to perfect posture, all the muscles lay correctly and don't bunch up into a double chin. You can get a bit of bunching as you do the exercise, but that's only while you're doing it.
If you want to be noticed when you walk into a room - walk in with perfect posture. That's what stands out.
I've tried these exercises but I can feel some pain in the middle / top of my back ~ any advice to avoid this? I assume my position isn't quite right but I don't know how to roll my neck in without putting pressure on my spine / back. Could you help please?
Hi Amandine. Sorry about the delay in replying - I don't seem to get notifications from this video.
I'd bet you're simply so tight and scarred in the upper trapezius muscles running up the back of your neck to the base of your skull that when youroll your head to tuck your chin in, these muscles are pulled on, and hurt a bit.
Best answer is to massage them, which has more leverage for stretching scarring than just a muscle stretch does. There are the two home massage exercises we've found the most useful - links are ruclips.net/video/9eLUQX03IoE/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/wq5pu5p8PUM/видео.html
That should do the trick. If not, have a look at this analysis of what causes pain on hunching, e.g. over laptops and smartphones - link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/.
Cheers, Steve August.
Does this also work muscles in the side and back of the neck like scalenes and levator scapulae? Thanks!
Hi. It works the scalenes a bit but not so much the levator scapulae. Usually those are strong enough and the main problem is they're tight - that's what you get when the chin is poking out. The deep neck flexors (mostly longus colli) which the exercise really does strengthen well are what you need to oppose the chin poked posture. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi, I tried the advanced raised chintuck variation, 10 seconds x 10. It was pretty easy. I have a loss of cervical lordosis, my upper traps and that area is stupidly tight and knotted. I'm using a traction device, strengthening my posterior chain with deadlifts. Any ideas?
Hi Akira. Yes - it's a composite problem, so you need to cover all the bases. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That's the analysis, and the bits you need to cover. Cheers, Steve August.
Are you putting your chin down to your neck, or pushing your chin inwards? also should you feel it in the back of your head/neck when raising the neck off the ground?
Hi Wyatt. It's the same thing. If you're feeling it in the back of your head, that's because you're really tight in the muscles down the back of your neck. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That's the analysis, and the bits you need to cover - including a specific massage for those muscles. Cheers, Steve August.
Strange. I cant roll my chin as in the first exercise, but i cant lif the neck and tuck my chin down and hold for ten? is this weird?
Hi Video Master. No - it just means you're really weak in that muscle.
It can get so weak that you can't actually lift your chin off the ground with your chin poked in, at all. If that's the case, just back off and do the exercise lying on the ground but without lifting your head off at all. When you can hold that for 10 seconds, 10 times in a row, then you're good enough to start lifting the head off a little.
It can take a few or even several weeks for you to be strong enough to lift your head off for 10 seconds, 10 times in a row. But stick with it. It's just muscle - it'll strengthen up okay.
I had one 95 year-old patient a few years ago, erect and with perfect posture, who could do 10 lifts for 10 seconds each, perfectly. So if she can do it, anyone can.
Cheers, Steve August.
Thanks for that Steve. What muscles do this mainly work, is it just the front neck muscles. Is there also one for the rear neck muscles. Thank you very much for great videos.
Hi. It works the longs collie and other deep neck flexor muscles. These are the ones you use to keep your chin held in and not poking out.
I don't include an exercise for the muscle down the back of the neck - hardly anyone ever needs one. Those muscles are usually way too strong and tight anyway, and they pull your chin out. Almost always the problem is that the muscles down the back of the neck are tight, scarred and strong, and the muscles round the front of the neck are weak. This means the chin pokes out, and also that every joint in the neck is compressed and can lock.
Have a look on the Backpod's iHunch page for a good diagram showing this - link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ Cheers, Steve August.
Thanks for the quick reply!
0:12 people lookingg like a crow😂😂😂
could yopu please show us how to strengthen the posterior muscles
+liam111liam Hi Liam. Usually, you don't need to strengthen the posterior neck muscles. They're already strong because they're doing most of the work of holding the neck up if you're hunched in front of the computer. They're also strained, scarred and shortened. What they need is to get more flexible. Massage is ideal for this - see my RUclips video on the most useful neck massage. Or just Google 'Backpod' and you'll get our website with the collection of videos on how to look after your own neck and upper back. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you for the answer but I still want to strengthen them so that my neck won't snap when I fall on my back. Besides that I am interested in Bodybuilding. My spine sticks out when i flex the spine. I want to build some muscle to protect my spinal cord. Thats why I asked.
Could you tell me your opinion on the wrestler's bridge? It looks kind of dangerous to me.
P.S. I found FOUNDATION TRAINING and YOGALIGN very interesting. Just wanted to point that so that you can suggest these methods if you agree with their philosophies to improve flexibility in a healthy way.
Liam Serarcangeli
+liam111liam Hi Liam. I think the wrestler's bridge is really dangerous. I also think you're still missing my point about the posterior neck muscles. Have a look at two RUclips videos by Elliot of Strength Camp: 'Fix Ugly Forward Head Posture' and 'Build Stronger Neck Muscles'. If you're body building, they are almost certainly stronger than you need already. Steve August.
Haha she looks like she's not trying to laugh
Much of the time when we were filming, she was laughing. Katha's cool. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi doc
I have herniated disc at c4 c5 c6 c7 with radiating pain in arms and stenosis is this good to do will this strengthen my neck .
Kindly suggest
Yes. However the question is also WHY have you got herniated discs at C4/5/6/7? Which is a lot, by the way. This is RUclips, so it's not like I can do a formal examination. However I've treated backs and necks for over 30 years as a New Zealand manual physiotherapist.
Playing the odds, I'd say get a Backpod, and use it plus all the bits of the programme that comes with it in its user guide. So that's some simple strengthening (of which this video shows one exercise), stretching, home massage and posture ,as well as the Backpod to start stretching out the hunched upper back you've probably got which is driving the neck problem. The Backpod is available on Amazon.
As well, with that many discs affected, I'd be adding in quiet home traction to reduce the disc bulging a bit and free up the actual neck movement a bit. There are various devices you can find on Amazon, e.g. www.amazon.com/Cervical-Inflatable-Adjustable-Stretcher-Alignment/dp/B07H742VS2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=traction+neck&qid=1562886525&s=gateway&sr=8-3
The ideal would be good hands-on physio, but I don't know how you find a good one, and anyway these two things plus the simple home programme should do most of it. They're not miracle cures, but they're the best way into what you've described that you can do yourself. Good luck with the work.
Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 thanks for the reply doc
One of the doctor i consulted told me
My cervical lordasis is striangten due to this i have disc herniation in cervical & lumbar
But he didn't gave me any exercise since he is a Ayurvedic doctor not a physio
So can you suggest me is traction is good for loss of lordasis ?
Will reversing exercise for lordasis cures disc herniation ?
Or any other exercise you are suggesting me
Kindly reply doc
@@prasanthgp1027 I've already suggested the two things I think are likeliest to help you most. I can't do better than that over RUclips.
whats the next progression
Have you actually tried this one? It sounds easy and it isn't. Anyone should be able to do the exercise as shown, in perfect form with the chin held in (NOT with it poking out), holding in perfect form for 10 seconds, repeated 10 times. Most people can't do that.
The progression is the full collection of exercises (two), home massages (two) stretch (one) and spinal fulcrum (one) shown on the iHunch page of the Backpod's website - link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ That's a very accurate analysis of the basic specifics needed to pull a hunched upper back back towards perfect posture. It's the collection that works, not just one bit on its own.
Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Appreciate the reply, i'll try to load the exercise though. Yes i tried it.
I have a hyper mobile neck from a whiplash ten years ago. I wonder is this will help. I have severe spasms too
Hi Veronica. Yes - go for it. What you most commonly get left over after a whiplash is jamming up of the spinal joints at the very top of the back, plus excessive movement (a.k.a. hypermobility) at the lower bit of the neck (usually C5/6/7 levels), plus or minus jamming up of the very top of the neck, causing headaches. So the strengthening exercise in the video is exactly what you want for support strength for the hypermobile part, especially if your chin pokes out a bit.
Have a look at the iHunch page on www.backpod.co.nz - link is www.bodystance.co.nz/ihunch.php That covers the simple minimal collection of exercises, massage and stretching aimed at adding in the support strength plus flexibility where it's needed after a whiplash. It's the same collection of logical building blocks you need to get back towards perfect posture. Cheers, Steve August.
That might be good for grandma but I'm a guy, I want a serious neck workout :P
Bet you can't do 10 holds of this exercise, in perfect form, holding each one for 10 seconds. That takes real effort. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 I can only hold it for 2-3 seconds with a max of 3 reps. Does than mean my neck (muscle) is in bad shape?
Yep. It's really, really common.
Look around you for people who are hunched and with their chins poking out. Anyone ought to be able to hold the exercise in perfect form with their chin held in, for 10 seconds, and do 10 in a row.
I once had a patient in her 90s (!!!) who could do that - she walked in like a dancer and had perfect posture. Completely striking.
They're just muscles - they'll strengthen fine. Will take a few weeks though. Have a look at the IHunch page on the Backpod's website www.backpod.co.nz also.
Cheers, Steve August.
when I do this exercise I feel it mostly in my shoulders and spine instead of my neck. is that normal?
+Ay Yu Then do it standing up, but keep your shoulder blades back.
+Ay Yu If you follow mister8800 suggestion, you could to it while standing against a wall.
Mithridates123 I never even thought of using the wall either, I'll start doing that as well. Thanks : )