if you suffer from neck pain or tightness or forward head posture
because of working at a desk or a computer all day then check out this
video to learn three exercises that you can do on a daily basis to relieve those
problems to help you look and feel better
hey there welcome this is Eric
Wong from precision movement and today I've got episode 2 of the active office
worker where we're gonna focus on the neck now if you work at a computer or
desk all day then the neck often gives you pain it gets stiff and sore and you
can end up having forward head posture which doesn't look pretty and it can
lead to further or more pain and problems with not just the neck but the
shoulders and even the thoracic and the lumbar spines so what we're gonna go
through his three techniques first we're starting off with active self myofascial
release and ASMR is helpful because while we're massaging tissue to break up
any adhesions or fibrosis and to improve the contract ability and the
extensibility of that tissue we're integrating movement at the same time so
the neuromuscular system is right away it's learning how to use that range that
you might be gaining from the massage technique then we're going to go through
a neck control particular rotation so taking through taking the neck and the
cervical spine through the fold through its full range and finally we're gonna
work a stability technique to strengthen the muscles that keep your neck in a
stable neutral position and that's important because that's the position we
want to be in all day so let's start with the ASMR technique for this we're
gonna focus on the sternocleidomastoid muscle so this muscle originates behind
the ear on the base of the skull and it goes down and inserts into the
collarbone the clavicle here when this muscle is short
you look like this you're flexed and rotate it to the side a little bit and
that's gonna if you think about bringing this part of the skull to this as close
to this part of your clavicle as you can that's that muscle working okay so
you're in this type of position so we want to start in that position find the
fingers at the base of the skull right where that muscle starts and you're
gonna apply pressure and slide the fingers right down that muscle okay so
when you're in this position you're gonna feel that muscle tense up because
that's what brings you into this position that's the action of this
muscle and then we go the opposite and we lengthen now muscle as we strip those
adhesions away so we'll do five passes here find the muscle you'll feel it
tense up and then once you start to do the opposite motion you'll feel it relax
right into the clavicle here and that's reciprocal inhibition when you do the
opposite motion the muscle that you're working is relaxing we'll go to more
I've got my index in my middle finger
and last one
okay then we'll go the other side get behind my mic here so there it is it
stands up you probably see a bulge there a little bit
that muscles contracting and it's at the shorten length then we take it - that's
full range lengthens position yeah we're doing five passes
two more
and last one
now if your shoulders your elbows are a little bit tight and/or you're limited
in the range here you can use your opposite as well they both work in fact
that's a little bit easier so now we've loosened up the tissue cleaned up that
tissue a little bit right away we want to go into some movement so we'll start
with the neck car controlled articular rotation two reps in either direction
let's start chin chest rotate bend that ear over the shoulder
rotate around bend the ear back and then return the start
that's one rep and one Direction's going the other direction
rotate it swipe your shoulder bed your head over the shoulders rotate bring the
head back to the front of the shoulders into the start so that's one in either
direction let's go to in either direction
nice and slow explore those end ranges and work within a safe range of motion
for you breathing no excessive tension here okay so that's two reps in either
direction of the neck car now we're gonna stabilize neutral so
first we're going to find a really nice and tall neutral position so the way to
do that is get the chin away from the fingers lengthen the cervical spine like
a balloon is pulling your head up and this is the position that we stay in so
first we're gonna push forwards let's bring both hands up and really open
those elbows up so you can stretch out the chest a little bit at the same time
and then you're gonna press forward it's very gently and then take one slow
360 breath where you're expanding the chest in all directions
okay gradually let go and then one hand on the side apply pressure then slow 360
breath
okay don't use the accessory muscles getting gradually relaxed and then slow
on the other side slow 360 breath keep the chin tucked in the balloon pulling
you up and finally push the forehead just gently and that's it now we've
taught we've loosened up the sternocleidomastoid which is a muscle
that is very responsible for forward head posture and it's implicated in neck
pain if it comes from working at a computer or desk all day then we've gone
through the rotation so we're taking the neck and the cervical spine through
that's full range and finally we stabilize the neck and neutral posture
so that your body knows this is the position that I want to be in and I have
strength in this position so you're able to stay there now just like the previous
episode where we talked about the wrist it's important to you if especially if
you're dealing with neck pain and you're working at a computer all day to do this
on a regular basis do this on a daily basis and a good way to remember that is
outside of setting a timer on your phone of one to do it
if there is an activity that you do every day whether it's sitting down at
your desk for the first time or before you get up for lunch or before you leave
for the end of the day anchor this movement to that time so that it becomes
a regular habit okay so if you enjoyed this video in this episode make sure to
subscribe so you get future episodes and check out precision movement coach for
programs articles courses to help you improve your mobility keep your body
feeling good so you can do the things that you love okay thanks for watching
see you next time peace