No One Is Going To Save You!

This past week I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about what drives someone to change. Change is something most people avoid like the plague, the main driving force to cause change is to avoid pain. I thought about all my patients and I asked all of them what made them finally decide to come in, I got the same answer time after time “I finally got sick of the pain and decided to do something about it”. For most of these patients, this meant finally acknowledging that they had a problem and if they didn’t do something about it, it would only get worse. So this week I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new with your health. Whether it’s going to the gym for the first time, or starting a new diet you are the only one who can save yourself so why wait?

How well does your neck move?

Can you bend over and touch your toes? Or can you look over your shoulder without turning your entire body? These are both things you should easily be able to do yet most people struggle. Keeping your spine mobile is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for a life of fewer injuries, a more enjoyable time doing what you love, and better health overall. Your spine is broken up into 3 parts, your neck (cervical), your mid back (thoracic), and your lower back (lumbar), I want to first focus on how you can have the best cervical mobility. Before we go over how to improve your mobility, what does normal look like? 

You can easily test yourself:

1. Extension: Look up towards the ceiling if your forehead is parallel to the ceiling you pass. This is about 60 degrees. 

2. Flexion: Look down towards the floor. This is about 50 degrees.

3. Lateral Flexion: Tip your ear to your shoulder your nose should be about 45 degrees from vertical. 

4. Rotation: Turn your head to look over your shoulder, and your nose should be to the seam of your shirt or 90 degrees. 

If you can’t do this then these next few stretches and exercises will help, if you can these will help keep your neck moving well. 

Follow these 3 simple exercises morning and night every day to improve how your neck moves. 

1. Cervical extension with chin tuck: First start by tucking your chin giving yourself a double chin. Then look up to the sky and try looking as far back as you can without causing pain. Hold for 3-5 seconds, and repeat 3 times. 

2. Cervical Flexion: Similar to cervical extension, tuck your chin then this time look down to the floor and hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 3 times. 

3. Cervical lateral flexion: For this stretch simply try to bend your ear to your shoulder, then gently use your hand to stretch a little further, avoiding any pain. Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat 3 times on each side. 

4. Cervical rotation: This one will get a little more creative. First get on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders, and knees directly under your pelvis. Next while looking straight down, tuck your chin and rotate your head left and right. Do this 10 times on each side.

Keep in mind while you are doing these exercises you should feel a stretch but they should not be painful. You may hear some snapping and popping as well, as long as it is not painful this should become less noticeable the more you do these exercises. If you experience pain while doing these, it is best to stay within your means and not force the movements until they are uncomfortable.

So this week I challenge you to do these exercises every day and see what kind of change you get. It probably won’t take all your pain away but it will help you get on the right track for having the best cervical mobility you possibly can. Next week we will cover lower back so stay tuned!