Who here hasn't dealt with a stiff neck and stiffness in the top of the shoulders before? If you have ever sat in front of a computer for any period of time there is a good chance you have. While some people may have mild stiffness, for others it can be near debilitating and affect their concentration, cause headaches, and interrupt sleep. Wherever you lie on that scale of mild-severe, there can be some pretty simple ways to relieve that stiff feeling that plagues your life.
But to help something like this, we need to understand what is happening to cause this stiffness. In many cases, it starts out as your body telling you it wants more movement. When we sit in the same position for a while, your body sends signals to the joints and muscles to move, because our body thrives on movement. Initially this stiffness is resolved by those little neck circles, stretches, and self massage you do every so often. But when we subject our body to this day after day after day, our body starts to get a little annoyed at us. It starts to stiffen up more, we lose some of the normal joint and muscle mobility we usually have. Our muscles also get weaker and less stable from not being used as frequently. And our brain starts to adapt to this new "normal", but it still longs for the mobility and stability it had before.
Many times the fix can be simple, but how you're doing exercises for the neck can make a big difference in the outcome. As mentioned above-those neck circles, self massage, and stretches you're doing? They aren't bad, as they address the symptoms you're having, but we want to attack the root cause and stop the progression and reverse any mobility you've already lost. Typical stretching usually doesn't cut it, since we aren't pairing that with an active movement to reinforce strength and stability in that area, but there is a better way to get relief.
What we want is a combination of active mobility of the neck, upper back, and shoulder, isolated joint mobility of the neck and upper back, strength and stability of the neck, upper back, and shoulders, and endurance of these muscles as well. What would this look like you ask?? Well ask no more because we're about to lay it all out there for you. These are exercises we typically use for this exact issue with our patients.
Since you probably sit in front a computer for a good chunk of your day, and you have no equipment to usually work with, these can all be done with just a little bit of floor space (and maybe a yoga mat if you don't want to lay on the ground) 😉
An easy way to perform these 5 exercises is "every minute on the minute", which means you set a 5 minute timer, and at the start of each minute you will perform one of these exercises for the full minute before switching to the next! All it takes is 5 minutes, so set the timer and feel the tension melt away.
Shrug Holds (hold for 10-15 seconds)
Cervical CARs
Prayer Stretch (hold stretch for 5-10 seconds)
Chin tuck with thoracic extension
Prone Swimmers
If this is an issue you've been dealing with, just know that it can be fixed! Every person does have different needs and will have different deficits that need addressed, so while these may be a great jumping off point, unfortunately they can't always be he cure. If you have neck and shoulder stiffness that has been nagging you and you want to finally be on the path to recovery, schedule a free call with our doctor of physical therapy. We help so many Columbus, Ohio locals get out of pain and move better, so they can continue living and exercising without injury!