Stretches for Head, Neck and Shoulders

These stretches can either be done as a complete series or individually and most of them can be done at your desk.  Some will ease tension in specific parts of the body whilst others are generally relaxing.  Please remember stretching should always be relaxing and never painful!

To get maximum benefit from these stretches you should do them daily and hold each stretch for 15 seconds and repeat twice.

Head And Neck

  • Head rotation – keeping your head level, slowly turn from side to side.
  • Slowly drop your head sideways moving your right ear towards your right shoulder and push down with your left shoulder – repeat on other side.
  • Stand with your feet shoulder distance apart; look down towards your right foot (hold for 15 seconds),  dropping left shoulder – repeat the exercise looking towards your left foot.
  • Drop the lower jaw and open the mouth wide.

Shoulders

  • Shrugging shoulders in a circular movement – forwards and then backwards.
  • Raise your shoulders high and let them drap heavily; whilst letting breathing out.
  • Clasp hands behind your head, with elbows back – push your chin back.  Hold for 15 seconds.  From this position look down and push your elbows together at the front and hold for a further 15 seconds.
  • Clasp you hands and push up towards the ceiling, palms up now look down.
  • Sit upright in a chair with a firm seat.  Raise your arms as high as possible and remaining seated drop forward letting your head and arms hang heavily towards the floor.

 

 

Related Posts

  • Runner’s Knee

    What is runner's knee? Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome, or runner's knee, got its nickname for an obvious and very unfortunate reason—it's common among runners.  The resulting pain on the outside of the knee, comes on when running, stops when you rest and then starts again when you resume running.  Some runners feel something catching on the outside of their knee or a "twang" over the bone on the outside of their knee. What causes runner's knee?

    • Long distance running
    • Excessive eversion of the feet
    • Running on uneven terrain or on cambered roads
    • Lack of core strength
    • Mobility issues in your lower back or hips
    How can I prevent runner's knee?
    • Listen to your body - stop running if you feel and sharp or shooting pains and review your running style.
    • Strengthen your core including your glutes as this will help you run longer and longer distances and will ensure you have adequate strength when running up and down hills.
    • Ensure your Iliotibial band and thigh muscles are flexible.
    • Avoid running down hill or on a cambered road
    • If your feet naturally evert then book an appointment to see a podiatrist to see if you need shoe orthotics.
    Is there anything else that can help? Either deep tissue or a sports massage can loosen a tight Iliotibial band and release any tension in the hips, quadriceps and lower back muscles.  

  • Massage Therapy and Neck Pain

    Painful neckOne of the most common conditions we treat is neck pain which can range from a simple stiff neck, to inability to turn your head to either the right or left. So in this blog post I wanted to discuss the recent scientific research regarding massage therapy for neck pain in people with neck arthritis.

    Background

    • 1 in 5 people who visit a massage therapist do so because of neck pain
    • 28% of people with neck pain due to neck arthritis are likely to book a massage

    Until the most recent research the scientific literature on the effects of massage therapy on neck arthritis pain was mixed.  In this study an attempt was made to enhance the effects of weekly massage therapy by having the participants massage themselves daily.

    Methods

    Forth eight participants from a medical school, suffering from neck arthritis pain, were randomly split into two groups, one that received massage treatments and a wait list control group. The first group received a course of four 30 minutes weekly moderate pressure massages and supplemented this with 15 minute daily self-massage.  The control group started the same course of treatments after four weeks without massages.

    The effectiveness of the treatments were measured through self-reports and range of motion assessments, completed after massage treatments on the first and last days of the monthly study period.

    Results

    The group that received the monthly course of weekly massage treatments, showed significant reductions in pain and improvements in range of motion.  These ROM changes occurred specifically for nodding your head (flexion) and right and left lateral flexion motions.  Between the first and last day of the course of treatments showed on average a 50% decrease in pain during flexion.  Conversely the control group reported increases in pain and reductions in range of movement while waiting for massage treatments.

    The study Field T, Diego M, Gonzalez G and Funk C G (2014) Neck arthritis pain is reduced and range of motion is increased by massage therapy, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 20(4): 219 - 223 supports my subjective experience that massage therapy helps reduced neck pain and increase clients range of movement when it has been compromised.

  • Why does massage help so much?

    In a previous post I outlined some of the benefits of the 15 minutes Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage including the scientific evidence for these claims. But I think their is one benefit that stands out above these.

    I know in my previous life as an IT project manage, several times I spent most of a day trying to fix a problem and I just couldn't find a solution.  I had a tendency to get caught up in a problem and its just frustrating -- it can literally stress you out. When you're stressed out, it's harder to think clearly. Emotional stress can send your problem-solving skills into a tailspin.  To make matters worse I used to flip over that fine line between being focused on solving the problem and obsessing over it.

    The trick to break this cycle is to shift your focus. The purpose of shifting your focus is to temporarily get your mind off whatever challenge has it tied up in knots.   So when you come back to it you have are re-energised and have a fresh perspective.

    Going for a massage, shifts your focus to your body releases anxiety and the seated acupressure massage energises you & improves your mental alertness.  So I found it an ideal way of breaking the cycle of mentally obsessing over problems when I worked in IT.