If you're sat for a long time, you might find that your neck can get a little bit stiff and tight.
Knowing some easy neck exercises to reduce tension with the Pocket Physio can be really useful.
And you can do these exercises before you sit down or if you have been sat down for a while
and it might be good to just break up that episode of sitting and just do in order to just releasing the tension.
We have 3 options for you to try.
My name's Claire, I'm a Physiotherapist from PhysioFit Health.
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If you're not sure what the Pocket Physio is then we have another video just going into just the different features of it.
The first exercise we will go through with the Pocket Physio is targeting the upper part of the neck
which I tend to find gets pretty stiff if somebody has been sitting for a long time during the day
and in general over the days, months and years, it can get quite tight
and cause problems, sometimes even referring pain into the head giving headaches, yes all sorts.
So for this one you want to be using these two pointy bits with the Pocket Physio
and you want to be placing these either side of the spine really high up in the neck.
So you have the back of your skull that comes round
and then you want to be placing the Pocket Physio just underneath that area.
Now it is a little bit tricky to show on the video but i will try. So you're holding the Pocket Physio
and you're placing those two pointy bits right at the top part of the spine.
So it should sit like, I say either side of the bony parts, the bony ridges.
Now, holding onto it with one or two hands, you're very gently just gonna try and push the back of your head and neck
into the Pocket Physio and this should increase tension around the area where you are placing that Pocket Physio.
So you're pushing the head back, you're increasing that tension,
suggest holding it for about 5 seconds and then you are slowly going to ease off.
Now if you are not sure if you've got it in the right place that's fine, you can just move it around a little bit.
Maybe try just a little bit lower down and in fact with this one you can work your way all the way down the neck
but I do tend to find sweet spots or the tightest spot is at the top of the neck.
So 5 second hold, repeat it 5 or 6 times should increase the tension and start to release those muscles at the top.
The second exercise that you are going to try with the Pocket Physio,
you are still wanting to place it at the top of the neck as you were in that first one.
So place it at the top, use your hands one hand or both hands just to keep it in place
and you are this time holding it in place, you're very slowly going to turn your head
to the right which is going to increase the tension on that right side and then you're slowly going to turn your head to your left.
So that's it, easy hold it in place. Do your 5 or 6 repetitions turning to the right and to the left
and again same as that first one you can work the Pocket Physio down the spine
doing your turns you will probably find the lower down the neck it goes
the more you'll be able to rotate the head around. Again, remember it's got to be very comfortable.
The third exercise, you are going to use the flat part of the Pocket Physio and use the pointy part
which I think is equivalent to an elbow, so it's very useful to be a little bit more pinpoint.
So this you are going to place on the wall, the flat part goes on the wall
and then you're going to get that pointy elbow in and around the top parts of the traps.
So it's a little bit of an overlap between the neck and the shoulder but these points here tend to get quite tight in people.
So you can just have a little bit of an experiment just to find where your tight spot is,
or spots perhaps maybe in plural, you might find you're tighter on the right or the left, it might be the same.
So once you have found that spot, the wall's really useful for your leverage
and so you can push in with as much or as little pressure as you want to, remember it's got to be comfortable.
Once you've found that spot what I would suggest to trying is very slowly you're going to tilt your head away from the Pocket Physio.
So I've got it on my right shoulder and slowly I'm going to tilt my head over to the left.
It will give that stretch down the side of the neck and the Pocket Physio where it is,
it's just getting a little bit of extra pressure and tension so helps release things just a little bit more.
So those are your three exercises to try.
You can try one or perhaps try all three like I said at the beginning, either before you sit down
or if you want a little bit of break during the day or even at the end of the day.
It's fairly quick to do and it's good idea just to regularly release the tension
in the neck just to make yourself feel a little bit more comfortable.
We've got other videos coming up!
I'm talking about the Pocket Physio again and we'll talk about the shoulder,
the wrist and the forearm and also the lower back.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and I'll see you soon!