We require a lot of coordination and control from our necks. Our neck helps us walk, drive, read, reacts to surprises and engage in any kind of physical activity. The strain on the neck muscles is what causes most neck issues – pain, tightness, and/or weakness. These very simple neck mobility exercises will keep your neck healthy and fully mobile. Since joint mobility diminishes with age, the older you are – the poorer neck range of motion.
What is the Difference Between Joint Mobility and Muscle Flexibility Training?
Joint mobility is not the same thing as muscle flexibility. When doing mobility exercises, you generally will not feel much of a stretch, which is fine.
A muscle does not always have to be stretched to put a joint through its full range of motion. For example, you will achieve complete hip flexion if you stand upright and bring your knee towards your chest. Not much of a stretch, right? Muscle stretching will not deliver well-oiled joints. Your hinges need a distinctly different type of workout from your muscles.
Rotating a joint through its anatomically complete range of motion smooths out the joint surfaces and lubricates them. This contributes greatly to the joint’s health. A full range of motion is gained or maintained.
We will concentrate on joint health in our next several articles, but we’ll start today with an exercise that takes your neck through its range of motions. We’ve recommended this exercise for quite some time now and have received very positive feedback from grateful readers whose bad necks got a lot better.
Neck Mobility Exercises
Do the following neck mobility exercises every morning. Do not bounce, control your movements.
Start with 10 reps and add 10 a week. Eventually match the number of repetitions to your age. Teenagers and pre-teens do not need to bother with this exercise – for all others it’s highly recommended. Let’s start!
Left to Right Movement: Slowly turn your head to the left, then right. Gradually build up the range of motion.
Image source: relaxindia0.blogspot.com/2016/03/neck-muscle-movements.html
Up and Down Movement: Tuck your chin in, and then tilt your head back. Do not just force your neck back; elongate your spine and look up and slightly back.
Image source: relaxindia0.blogspot.com/2016/03/neck-muscle-movements.html
Lateral Flexion and Extension: Tilt your head strictly to one side without twisting, then to the other side.
Image source: relaxindia0.blogspot.com/2016/03/neck-muscle-movements.html
You have the choice to complete all the repetitions in one go, change the movements after 10 reps and come back later to finish the reps, or arrange the three neck moves in some other fashion.
NOTE: Do not to combine the three movements into a head roll; it’s practically a murder on your cervical spine.
Improve your neck movement and please share if you like our work.
Melissa Bell
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