In this video, I'm going to show you how to quickly fix bad
neck posture. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
St. Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go over
easy exercises that can quickly fix bad forward neck posture. A
note about these exercises, they all work just a little bit
differently. To get the best results, go through them all,
use what works best for you. As a bonus, all of the exercises
can be done at home required no special equipment and you may
find give instant results even within 30 seconds. So, with
that being said, a Let's get started. So, let's start with a
couple easy postural exercises that you can use throughout the
day pretty much anywhere including at work. The first
one is called the turtle. It's a very unique exercise. This
one can be done standing or seated. To start with very good
upright posture. Have your back as straight as possible. So,
what we're going to do first is take our shoulders and bring
them backward as much as we can until we feel a really good
stretch form in the chest but more importantly, what we want
to do is try to pinch our shoulder blades in the back as
much as we can. We're then going to hold this position.
The next movement is just sticking our head forward like
this as much as we can. It's kind of like a turtle sticking
hips and heck out of its shell. What we're going to do is hold
this position and then look upward towards the ceiling as
much as we can and then the last movement is bringing our
head backward towards our shoulders. In this position,
you're going to feel a ton of muscles start to fire
throughout the neck and the upper back. You want to hold
this one comfortably for five seconds and then relax and and
repeat five times. So, it should take you roughly 30
seconds. Let me switch to a side view so you can see it a
little bit better. So, we're going to bring those shoulders
back like this. We're going to stick our head forward. We're
going to look upward towards the ceiling and then bring our
head back towards our shoulders. So, the next
variation is very similar. When I do this one, I tend to feel
it a lot more right at the base of the skull over the sub
occipital muscles. This is a hot spot for a build up of
tension that can lead to pain and headaches. So, if that the
case especially after using your cellphone or computer too
much give this one a try before you get a headache it might
help relieve it instantly if not prevented so what we're
going to do again we can do this one standing or seated is
bring our shoulders back like this as much as we can pinching
those shoulder blades we're then going to look upward
towards the ceiling what we're going to do next is bring our
head back towards our shoulders hold this position and now tuck
our chin towards our chest as much as we can I really feel it
at the base of the skull this will give you a nice double
chin also. So you're going to hold this one for five seconds.
Relax and then repeat five times. With each repetition,
try to build into it just a little bit more. So let me show
you a side view. So we're going to bring those shoulders
back like this. Look upward towards the ceiling. Let's
bring our head back and then tuck our chin towards our
chest. But go through both of those movements. If one works
out better for you, go with it and a note with this exercise,
you can use it throughout the day as much as you like but if
you are building soreness in the neck. Allow enough recovery
time in there before you do it the next time because we don't
want to build anymore pain or discomfort. Here's an easy
exercise that you can do daily to help with bad forward neck
posture. This one can be done standing or seated. It's a
two-part movement. The first movement, we're going to do
what I like to call the neck pump because we're going to use
a pumping motion like this to help loosen up the muscles and
bring the head and neck back into better alignment and
posture. What I'm going to do is take two fingers put them
right on my chin like this let's do a slight chin tuck
towards our chest just very slightly and then we're going
to use our fingers to press our head backward like this as much
as we can until we feel a really good deep activation
into the muscles of the neck not to the point where it's
causing any pain or discomfort if that's the case back off
slightly you're going to hold this for a brief second and
then you're just going to relax and then you're going to repeat
this over and over again for about 20 repetitions should be
a nice fluid pumping motion just like this afterwards see
how you feel if it's nice and loose you're good to go but if
it needs a little bit more you can always throw in another set
or two so if you like to take this one to the next level and
target the neck just a little bit differently instead of
keeping your chin straight slightly turn it towards one
side shoulder and then repeat again you'll notice it hits the
neck just a little bit differently so experiment with
going all the way towards the left with going towards the
right. You'll probably find that one certain spot like
let's say right here on my right side just as addressing
the most amount of tightness or achiness or even pain. At that
point, stop over that spot and throw more repetitions in until
everything is nice and loose or until you're not getting
anymore improvement. So, you're probably wondering why I have
this towel right here. So, let's move on to the second
part of this exercise which is going to focus more on
strengthening to help correct that posture for the long term.
So, I'm going to use a medium-sized hand-drying towel.
Just roll it up, place it on the back of your head like
this, hook the two ends, pull them forward. The movement is
very similar. We're going to tuck our chin towards our chest
like this and then, we're going to try to press our head
backward as much as we can into the towel. The key with this
exercise though is add resistance into that movement
with this towel as much as you can. So, really fight it. As
you do this, you're going to feel a much deeper activation
into those neck muscle only go as far as you can comfortably
not to the point of pain or discomfort when you can't go
any further you're then going to hold this for five seconds
you're going to relax and then you're going to repeat this
five to 10 times, but if it feels like you have more energy
you can always throw in another set or two and to take this one
to the next level you can do that chin turning motion so
turn a little bit towards your left and repeat going all the
way towards the left and then also towards the right if any
spot gets a little bit more tension at that point throw
more repetitions in so an overlooked cause of bad neck
posture actually comes from tight chest muscles think we're
in this position all day long using cellphones driving typing
what it tends to do is draw our shoulders forward also causing
our head to come forward like this so here's a really easy
exercise that you can use throughout the day to help
loosen everything and hopefully get really quick neck posture
improvement so I'm going to take my arms put them off to my
side, palms are going to be facing backward. From there,
I'm just going to slowly press my hands backward like this as
much as I can. Also, drawing my shoulders back until I feel a
really deep opening stretch in my chest and also trying to
pinch my shoulder blades as much as I can. Once I'm in that
position, I'm then going to take my hands, make fist like
this, put them right into the small of my back, and then
really try to wing my elbows backward while also trying to
lift the chest upward towards the ceiling at the same time.
In this position, you should feel a really good stretch
right here into the chest. Let's hold this position and
now take it to the next level by focusing a little bit more
on our neck. So, this time around, what I'm going to do is
slightly tuck my chin towards my chest and then, I'm going to
draw my head backward like this as much as I can. You should
feel a ton of muscles firing pretty much in the neck, the
chest, and the upper back. You're going to hold this
position right here for 20 to 30 seconds. You're going to
relax and then on the next repetition try to build into it
just a little bit more so if you would really like to take
this one to the next level instead of just going straight
back with it like this do a big wide circle with your head it
doesn't matter if you go clockwise or counterclockwise
going one direction for about five times and with each
repetition try to build into it just a little bit more so I'm
going counterclockwise or clockwise or now. What I'm
going to do afterwards is then switch it up and then go
clockwise for five more repetitions. Afterwards, see
how you feel. If it feels like there's a little bit more
tightness left in there, you have more room for improvement.
You can always throw in another set or two. Here's a really
easy postural exercise that you can do daily right in bed. This
is a great one to do first thing in the morning. To get
into position, lie on your stomach, scoop forward until
your shoulders and head are off the edge. The first movement is
very straightforward. We're going to take two fingers, put
them right on our chin, and then tuck our chin towards our
chest just slightly. From there, we're going to press
upward towards the ceiling, taking the back of our head
upward towards the ceiling as much as we can until we feel a
really good activation of those neck muscles. You don't want to
go to the point of pain if that's the case back off
slightly and then you're going to hold this one comfortably
for five seconds. You're going to relax and then you're going
to repeat this five to times and with each repetition, try
to build into it just a little bit more and if it feels like
you have a little bit more energy, you can always throw in
another set or two. So, let's take this one to the next level
and now focus a little bit more into the shoulders and the
upper back. We want to help strengthen that area because it
will help improve neck posture. So, this time around, I'm
really going to scoot forward to make sure that my shoulders
and head are off the edge. Let's take our arms this,
straighten them, put them off to our side, have our palms
facing upward towards the ceiling. This time around, I'm
going to do my chin tuck and head retraction as much as I
can but then, I'm going to lift my chest and shoulder upward
off the bed at the same time. You should feel a ton start to
fire in the upper back down into the shoulder blades. Hold
this one for 5 seconds. You're going to relax. On the next
repetition, we're going to target the muscles just a
little bit differently. So, this time around, instead of
having my arms straight let's take them directly off to our
side and have our thumbs pointed upward towards the
ceiling kind of like a hitchhiker sign and then we're
going to repeat that just driving our thumbs upward
towards the ceiling lifting our shoulders and chest upward it
will hit the muscles a little bit differently by second hold
you're going to relax and then go into the last position we're
just taking our hands putting them on the back of our head
and this time around weaning our elbows upward towards the
ceiling but also lifting our shoulders and chest upward
holding for five seconds and then you're just going to go in
reverse and repeat. You want to do this whole cycle for about
three to five times and if any of those positions, just feel
like they're addressing a little bit more tightness or
weakness. At that point, throw more repetitions in. If the
exercises help, please support the channel by giving this
video a like and maybe subscribing too. If you have
any comments or questions, please leave them below. I'll
get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for watching.