Hey, everybody is Doctor Jo and unicorn Kali and today I'm going to show you my top three
stretches for the neck. So let's get started.
For these top neck stretches, they're also great for
the shoulder as well. So my ultimate favorite is an upper trap stretch, you can do this a couple
different ways, I'll show you the way I usually do it. So for the upper trap right here is the big
muscle in the back goes all the way up into the neck, and then all the way down into the shoulder.
So it can cause a lot of pain. So decide that you want to stretch, I like just kind of sitting on
my hand that holds that shoulder down just so you can get a better stretch, you don't have to do it
if it's uncomfortable. But this will give you a little bit better stretch, bring your upper hand
up and over, where you're kind of placing your finger just on your ear right there,
all you're doing is just gently pulling away from that side, try to keep your head in a neutral
position, when you turn it you can do that, but then you're getting other muscles as well. So I
really like just starting off with pulling it over to the side and I'm getting a nice
stretch right in through there where that upper trap area is. So making sure you're not pulling
so hard, where it's painful, but just tension and slightly uncomfortable. So then holding
that stretch for 30 seconds, and then alternating sides. So if this is uncomfortable sitting on it,
you can place it behind your back. But again, you can also just kind of hold it to the side
and get that stretch is pulling over. But see if you put your hand in the behind your back,
or if you sit on it a little bit that holds that shoulder down, and it's going to give you a much
better stretch. So holding it for 30 seconds. And I like doing three on each side to really get a
good stretch in there. Another one of my favorite stretches is the levator scapulae stretch. And so
that muscle elevates our elevates the the shoulder blade or the scapula and so the muscle is attached
down at the shoulder blade here and it comes all the way up into the cervical area. And the levator
scapula is the one that a lot of times when you're holding stress, or you're working on your computer
for a long time, it can get overworked and it gets really painful in the neck and it'd be painful in
the shoulder. So stretching it out really helps get rid of some of that pain. So there's a couple
different ways you can modify this one as well where their arm placement, but I'm going to mainly
show you the way that I learned how to do it. Because it's the way I feel like I get the best
stretch. But I do know that sometimes this is hard for people to do. So if I'm stretching this side,
I'm going to bring my arm up and bring that elbow towards the ceiling. So my hand is kind of just
resting on my shoulder blade, and then that elbow is up. And what that does is that keeps
that shoulder blade or that scapula down to get a better stretch. So again, if this is really
hard or uncomfortable for you to do, you can place your hand behind your back, or you can just kind
of rest it down, you'll still get a stretch. But I always feel like you'll get a little bit
better stretch. If you're getting that shoulder blade kind of holding it down a little bit,
then this time with your hand instead of coming to the side, come up and over. I call it almost like
a helmet where your hand is going to be behind your head. So then you're going to turn your head
at a slight angle, maybe about 45 degrees where your nose is kind of pointed towards your opposite
knee. So when you come to pull down, either go down towards that opposite knee about that 45
degree angle. Or imagine that you're tucking your nose into your armpits. So elbow up hand overhead,
and just pulling down into that position. And I can really feel that stretch right along where
that levator scapulae muscle runs. And so it's a nice stretch. And again, if my hand is just
down like this, I still feel a stretch. But do you feel like this is just a little bit better.
So holding that stretch for 30 seconds, alternating side and up and over,
and then just kind of pulling down almost like I'm tucking that nose into the armpit. And then
holding that stretch again for 30 seconds. Doing that three times on each side. If
you're interested in seeing a real time video with these stretches, so you can follow along,
check out my real time video list up there. So the next stretch is going to be what we call snags.
But it's really just a cervical rotation using a towel. And what the towel does is it really kind
of helps get that one segment at a time stretch. So you're going to feel that rotational stretch a
little bit more than just rotating your neck. So that's a little bit interesting way to to do it.
But make sure that you're getting the towel above your neck so you're not squishing on your neck.
So what you're going to do is take your hand and grab the opposite side to kind of anchor the towel
down. You're going to take them this hand in this towel and come up about where your ears are not
down here, but up where your ears and the motion I'm going to be doing is I'm going to be rotating
and going upward. So I'm thinking about looking at the ceiling there and going up and over.
At the same time I'm pulling down this way to keep that towel kind of tight and locked out.
So pulling down, up and over and then rotating kind of across the ear and the jawline and I
really feel Nice, good stretch, and they're feeling this snags pool. And so again, if you can
holding this for 30 seconds, I know maybe it's a little more uncomfortable since you're pulling,
but then you're just gonna change size again. So 30 seconds. Now I'm anchoring down here. Now I'm
coming up and over kind of around my ear, my jaw line, and then pulling down this way and up and
over and getting a really, really good stretch in there, holding that for 30 seconds. Doing
that three times on each side. So there you have it. Those are my top three stretches for the neck.
If you'd like to check out some other videos, check them out over here. And don't forget to
subscribe by clicking down there. And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.