In this video, we're going to go over the best exercises for
a sore neck and shoulders for instant pain relief. Stay
tuned!
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare
in St. Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go
over some great stretching exercises that are going to
target tight, achy, sore muscles pretty much from the
neck down into the shoulders. All of these exercises work
just a little bit differently. So, go through them all. Take
what works best for you. As a bonus, they all can be done at
home, do not require any special equipment and may give
quick pain relief, even in as little as 30 seconds! So, let's
get started and fix that sore, achiness, in the neck and
shoulders right now. So, a big cause of neck and shoulder pain
are due to tight, achy muscles. Think muscle spasms, muscle
knots, trigger points, you name it. Here is a simple, quick way
to be able to target all of those with what I like to call
the $2 dollar muscle fix because I'm going to be using
two ordinary tennis balls in a sock. You can also use a
pillowcase. The trick with this, put the tennis balls in a
sock, get them nice and tight at the end, twist the sock, and
then tie it. That way we have a nice massage tool that we call
a peanut. The great thing about a peanut is it has a groove
right here that we can put the spine in between and target the
muscles off to the side. It's more comfortable that way but
we also have a handle to hit hard-to-reach spots which
you'll see here in just a bit. You want to go next to a door
or a wall for this one. I'm going to start off by focusing
more into the neck and then we'll build more into the
shoulder. So, let's take two fingers. Do a nice chin tuck
just like this. Bring it down towards the chest. This will
help open up the neck just a little bit more. I'm going to
my massage tool, my peanut right here and grab the two
balls with my hands. I'm going to start off at the base of the
skull right at the top of the neck. Apply enough pressure in
there where you're going to get a nice self massage but not
causing any discomfort. What I'm going to do from there is
just rock the balls, roll them up and down just very very
slowly targeting those tight achy muscles. You want to do
this for about five to 10 seconds. From there, you're
just going to relax, take a breather, and then repeat this
a couple more times. With each repetition, challenge yourself
by pressing into those muscles just a little bit more to
hopefully get them to release. From there, I'm just going to
go down just a little bit and then repeat. You go from the
base of the skull all the way down to the base of the neck
and you want to stop over any spots that might just be
pinpoint tight and achy and you want to throw more repetitions
in at that point until they start to release. From there
too, you can also experiment with different motions. You can
go from side to side with it. You can also do circular you
can also just apply pressure on one particular side by
controlling it with your hands just like this but go through
different motions target different spots that need it
the most. From there, let's go a little bit more at the base of
the neck into the shoulder, side of the arm right here. I'm
going to take my massage tool and I'm just going to start
right here at the top of the shoulder again I'm just going
to roll it up and down over the muscles and pretty much do this
for about five to 10 seconds, explore the whole area go over
the front of the shoulder the back right here over the
deltoid off to the side of the arm. Again, focusing on any
certain movements or positions of these tennis balls right
here that target those tight achy spots a little bit more.
Do this on the left and also off to the right. One of the
hardest spots to get to is pretty much right at the base
of the neck in between the shoulder blades and the top of
the shoulders. This is where our massage tool, our peanut is
going to come in handy because it has a nice handle. That way,
we can throw the tennis balls over our back, raise and lower
it to hit those particular tight spots that we really have
a challenge getting to. So, what I'm going to do is put my
feet together, space them slightly away from a door or a
wall. I'm just going to lean into that tennis ball right
here at that point. So, I have my tennis balls pretty much
centered right over the spot of pain. I'm going to drive my
body weight as much as I can into the tennis balls to create
enough pressure to get a self massage for there I'm just
going to bend my knees up and down kind of like squatting
right here to roll my upper body over the tennis balls
again I like to do this for about 10 to 15 seconds going up
and down with it from there take a breather do a couple
more repetitions and then switch over different spots you
can also go side to side with it you can do circular motions
explore the whole area focus on the spots again that need it
the most but it's just a super easy way to really target spots
and get some quick pain relief here a fantastic exercise that
puts a lot of good motion into the shoulder and also will
offer one of the deepest neck stretches you can get we just
need a large sturdy stick. Broomstick works, PVC pipe, if
you don't have any of those go out in the yard and grab a big stick.
Whatever side that we're focusing on, let's just grab
right at the top right here with that hand I'm going to
place the stick on the outside of the elbow just like this and
then my elbow is going to be straight out in front of me I'm
going to take the other hand place it right below and grab
under the elbow I should say. The movement is very easy. I'm
pulling with this hand over while just stabilizing by
grabbing the top right here with the other hand. So, what
you do this, what's going to happen is is that it pulls the
shoulder into external rotation. You'll feel a very
deep stretch into that shoulder. Focus on feeling a
deep stretch not causing any discomfort. If this feels good,
you can hold it for 15 to 20 seconds. Relax and then repeat
it for a couple more repetitions but if you want to
focus a little bit more into the neck while doing take the
ear on the other side towards the other shoulder so build up
an initial tension right here a deep stretch into the neck and
then just simply lean your neck and head in the opposite
direction and this feels really really good you'll feel it all
the way up to the ear almost you just want to hold this one
for about 15 to 20 seconds you're just going to relax take
a breather and then repeat with each repetition challenge
yourself to stretch more into it with the shoulder and also
taking the ear towards the other side do that for three to
five rep and when you're done on one side, just switch to the
other to keep them both imbalance. So, here is a really
easy and quick fix for neck and shoulder pain that you can
pretty much do anywhere. We just need to go next to a door
or a wall. I'm going to put my feet together, space them in
front of the door of the wall. That way, I can lean into it.
That way my hips, my shoulders, and the back of my head are
flush against that wall or a door for a stable anchor point.
Let's take two fingers, put them on the chin, and do a
slight chin tuck like this to put in better posture. I'm
going to straighten my elbows and then I'm going to make
fist, thumbs go up towards the ceiling. So, it's kind of like
a hitchhiker sign. Let's angle our arms out just a little bit
like this. The first movement is called a Y lift because
I'm going to lift my arms like this creating a Y and I'm
trying to take my thumbs towards a wall or the door
behind me like this. The more that you go back, the more
you're going to feel it activate into the chest, the
upper back across the shoulders into the neck. Really focus on
that. If you don't have the flexibility to touch the thumbs
to the door of the wall, go back as far as you feel
comfortable but once you had a very comfortable stretch, let's
hold this one for about 15 to 20 seconds. From there, you're
just going to relax, take a breather, and then on the next
repetition, stretch into it even more. Challenge those
muscles to get them to release but you want to do this for
about three to five repetitions. To take this one
to the next level and focus a little bit more on the top part
of the shoulders into the base of the neck, let's do this.
Let's make again. This time around, our thumbs are going to
go down towards the floor. I'm going to place my fist right on
the side of my face but don't press into it so hard that
you're causing irritation. Let's tuck the chin towards the
chest. This time around, we're going to wing our elbows back
towards that door. You'll feel the chest open up, the shoulder
blades and the back starting to pinch. Really focus on feeling
it into the base of the neck into the neck with this one.
Hold for 15 to 20 seconds. You're just going to relax,
take a breather, and then repeat this one for three to
five times. So, here is a great daily neck and shoulder pain
relief exercise that you can do first thing in the morning
right at the edge of your bed. You can also do this one in a
chair too if you need something a little bit lower. I'm
going to start off on my knees so make sure to put a pillow or
towel underneath them for extra comfort. What we need to do is
find our contact point for this first exercise. I'm going to do
a decompression traction or pulling motion into the neck to
get everything stretched out and also take pressure on those
spinal discs. What I'm going to do is cup right at the bony
spot on the backside of my ear. So, take two fingers, go on to
the backside of the ear, trace downwards until you find two
bony points. We want to hook those points with the meaty
portion of our palm right here and we're going to cup around
the ear so we're not causing discomfort. So, watch how I do
this. I'm going to take that part, cup right at the backside
of the ear right there and then cup around my ears like this.
The backside of my arms are going to go flat on the edge of
bed for extra stability. I'm going to tuck my chin towards
my chest. The movement is I'm going to kind of lift up a
little bit with my hands right here kind of 45°, up while then
I lower my butt, my whole body towards my heels. So, what I'm
doing is getting a nice, deep stretch starting to form at the
base of the skull which will then intensify the more that I
lower my butt down towards my heels. Once you hit a very deep
stretch into the neck pretty much again from the base of the
skull all the way the base of the neck. You want to hold this
for about 20 seconds. Do nice, slow, controlled breathing
also. Let that tension out. If it feels good, you can hold it
for longer. Half minute upwards to a minute but when you need a
breather, just come back up and take one. You want to repeat
this for about five complete repetitions. With each
repetition, challenge yourself by taking your butt down even
further to get a better stretch. How we can focus a
little bit more onto the shoulders and upper back, the
base of the neck. Let's take our hands like this and just
place them on the back of our shoulders just like this. I'm
going to lower my butt down just a little bit until you
feel a very good stretch at the base of the neck into the upper
back across the shoulders. I'm going to take one arm off like
this and I'm going to do what is known as threading the
needle. So, I'm just going to take one arm, bend the elbow,
and then go all the way across the body as far as I can.
You'll notice a lot activate into the upper back across the
top of the shoulders. Really try to drive over as much as
you can. Hold this position for about 15 to 20 seconds. You're
just going to relax, take a breather, and just simply
repeat on the other side. You want to do this for 3-5
complete repetitions on both sides and always challenge
yourself too to get a better stretch with each repetition.
With the last one, we're going to focus a little bit more on
upper back thoracic rotation. So again, let's get back into
that position where we're taking our butt down towards
our heels. We should feel a very good stretch to begin with
into the bottom part of the neck into the upper back. From
there, I'm going to lift one elbow off like this and then
lift the elbow, I should say, lean into towards the ceiling.
You should feel a lot firing into the neck and to the top
part of the shoulder right here into the upper back. Really
focus on that but try to wean that elbow up as much as you
can. Hold this one for about five seconds. You're just going
to relax and then you're going to do it on the other side. You
want to do this one for about five to 10 complete repetitions
but it's just a lot of good dynamic movement that really
opens up the neck and shoulders and hopefully will give you a
lot of quick pain relief and also help prevent it throughout
the day. If the exercise has helped, please support the
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