Hi, I'm Margaret Martin at MelioGuide, and today we're going to talk about neck pain.
So a lot of my clients say, "Margaret, I just got my bone density, and I'm really nervous,
because it seems like since I've gotten my bone density results my neck is really sore."
And so is there a correlation between the results in the neck of the femur and your
neck?
Not really.
However, and I'll explain this a little bit more in terms of the neck of the femur, but
right now I want to go into, you know, you get those results, and it really feels very
stressful, you almost feel like your bones have abandoned you.
It's like, "Whoa, what?
My bone density's so low?"
And so that stress, that anxiety, we carry a lot of that in our necks.
And so, although the results of the neck of the femur doesn't directly correlate with
your neck, the fact that your bone density is low can be causing you some stress and
anxiety.
So I'm going to share with you two wonderful stretches that you can do for your neck, and
these stretches are also found in the "Exercises for Better Bones" book, because they're wonderful
for posture.
And so, first thing, as with all your stretches, I need you to stand really tall, because the
position of your spine all the way up to the base of your neck dictates how your head is
sitting over your shoulders.
That's really critical when doing your stretches.
So I don't want you sitting or standing slouched, I need you lifting tall and bringing your
ear as close to your shoulder as you can before you begin these stretches.
So here it goes.
I'm just going to demonstrate one on each side, and the important part here is I want
you to think about hinging from one vertebra at a time.
Taking a breath in, and then exhale as you bring your ear over your shoulder.
We have seven vertebrae, and we want each one of them to be part of the movement.
So ear to shoulder.
Nice and tall.
Nice breath in.
Exhale as you go in the opposite direction.
And so I'm bending one vertebra at a time, bringing my ear as far as I can over my shoulder.
I want to feel a delicious stretch in the opposite side.
This should not be painful in any way.
And you come back up one vertebra at a time, back to your tall posture.
That's a great stretch for your upper trapezius.
Second stretch.
We go back towards the first stretch, ear toward shoulder, but before we get into a
really deep stretch, we bring our chin over our nipple line.
So coming over, and now you want to feel the stretch in your levator scapulae, which is
a muscle that helps elevate your scapula, or your shoulder blade.
And you're going to come down, you're going to enjoy that stretch, and I won't make you
watch me for 30 seconds, but you might want to hold it 30 seconds or longer.
And we'll repeat the same thing on the other side, last one.
Inhale, exhale.
Ear to shoulder.
While you're doing ear to shoulder, nose is always pointing straight ahead, and then your
nose and your chin come down towards your nipple line, towards the center of your collarbone,
enjoy that lovely stretch, and then coming back up.
So despite your results in your neck of your femur, you can help your neck feel better.
Thanks for tuning in.
I'm Margaret at MelioGuide.