Video Transcript: Exercises for Alleviating Neck Pain Transcription

Okay. So, there are a few different mobilizations that you can do to help with neck pain. 

Easiest thing to do would be to grab a scarf or a towel or a bedsheet. And, what you're going to do is you're going to put it around your neck. And, where you're going to put it is going to -- you're going to start kind of lower down, so almost like you're right about where the curve of your neck is at the bottom, at the base. This is around C7, so base of the neck. 

And, you're going to pull down. So, it's almost like you're blocking that vertebra. And, as you pull down, you’re gently going to extend or lift your chin up to the ceiling. And, you're going to repeat that about three to five times. 

And then, what you're going to do is you're going to move the towel or the sheet up a little bit, so it's more in the midline of the neck, so kind of in the middle of the neck. Same thing. Now you're going to just pull forward, kind of blocking the vertebra and gently pulling back three to five times. 

And then, you're going to pull so that you're closer to the base of the skull. And, you're going to pull up a little bit as you are going to extend back in the neck. And, you're going to repeat that again three to five times and see if that improves symptoms. And so, you can start with whatever direction your neck is not moving well, whether your neck is not moving well into flexion or extension, or even rotation or side-bending. And, see if doing that helps. 

If that doesn't help, then what you can do is you can now do a little bit of rotation. And so, let’s say I’m having difficulty rotating or side-bending my head to the left side. What I'm going to do is I'm going to again keep the towel sort of low down on the spine. I’m going to pull down with one towel -- one side of the towel side so that blocks the motion. And then, the other side I’m going to pull straight across and I'm going to encourage rotation at the vertebra. So, as I rotate, I'm just pulling the sheet across. I’m pulling the scarf across. 

And then, you can move up again midline. Same thing. This hand -- this left hand is holding still and the right hand is encouraging movement, encouraging rotation. 

And then, you can move up -- move the scarf up. Same thing, encouraging rotation. 

You can do this to both sides. Now, if it hurts to go to the left, it might be more comfortable to go to the right. So, you can repeat and do the exact same thing going to the opposite side, so pulling down with the towel, pulling across with the towel as I turn to the right. 

Now, sometimes it's just too painful to go to one side. So, let’s say my motion is restricted going to the left and it's too painful going to the left, whether it's rotation or side-bending. Then, I might choose to go to the right and see if it’s better afterwards going to the left. You can try this both directions. 

None of these movements should cause pain. And, if they help, you'll know because, after you've done each movement, I want you to retest the movement that doesn’t feel good, whether it’s side-bending or whether it’s rotation, and see if that helps. 

Again, no more than three to five repetitions for each of the directions, and check each time and see how it feels. And then let me know!