Cervical/neck rehab/prehab exercises

[HeMB]

Is there something equivalent to the McGills big 3 except for neck?

Or like [Neck] mechanic?


I have started to experience some neck issues, specifically on the lower neck, like C7-T1 or C6 discs...


Maybe other decent exercises to do?
Btw I am aware of the posture.





Cannot find anything credible, thanks.

[ampire]

Is there something equivalent to the McGills big 3 except for neck?

Or like [Neck] mechanic?


I have started to experience some neck issues, specifically on the lower neck, like C7-T1 or C6 discs...


Maybe other decent exercises to do?
Btw I am aware of the posture.





Cannot find anything credible, thanks.

I personally found doing dumbbell shrugs with a light-moderate weight and high reps helped me. For example 40 lbs per hand for 30 reps.

PTs would probably recommend doing chin tucks and other deep neck flexor activation. I don't really think its effective from my own personal experience when I had severe neck pain, maybe it works for some inactive sedentary patients, but if you are an already active strength trainer it might not.

Another thing is making sure you have adequate thoracic extension, I found progression of childs pose, cat and camel yoga stretches is helpful.

Also if you have a tight chest, it can pull your head forward and cause neck pain, so doorway chest stretch can help.

Ultimately, I think doing high rep shrugs resolved my neck issues. I did them in a mirror to make sure the form was good.

Also, if you are in the habit of cracking your neck, don't crack your neck.

I am glad my neck issues went away. I hope you get well soon, neck pain is terrible to experience.

Edit: also make sure you have a good pillow, might take some trial and error but your sleeping setup matters a lot. Avoid using tablets or phones for long periods. If you use a desktop computer or a laptop, make sure the monitor height isn't set too low, that can force you to hunch over. For a laptop screen, you can place it on a stand and use a usb keyboard.

[HeMB]

I personally found doing dumbbell shrugs with a light-moderate weight and high reps helped me. For example 40 lbs per hand for 30 reps.

PTs would probably recommend doing chin tucks and other deep neck flexor activation. I don't really think its effective from my own personal experience when I had severe neck pain, maybe it works for some inactive sedentary patients, but if you are an already active strength trainer it might not.

Another thing is making sure you have adequate thoracic extension, I found progression of childs pose, cat and camel yoga stretches is helpful.

Also if you have a tight chest, it can pull your head forward and cause neck pain, so doorway chest stretch can help.

Ultimately, I think doing high rep shrugs resolved my neck issues. I did them in a mirror to make sure the form was good.

Also, if you are in the habit of cracking your neck, don't crack your neck.

I am glad my neck issues went away. I hope you get well soon, neck pain is terrible to experience.

Edit: also make sure you have a good pillow, might take some trial and error but your sleeping setup matters a lot. Avoid using tablets or phones for long periods. If you use a desktop computer or a laptop, make sure the monitor height isn't set too low, that can force you to hunch over. For a laptop screen, you can place it on a stand and use a usb keyboard.

I will try shrugs, definitely.
And I agree on PT's, I actually were to a one long time ago and he prescribed exactly just that lol.

Why not cracking tho? It def feels good, at least at the moment.





Anyway, the issue seems to be chronic, it used to be on and off but very minor, and usually it resolved on it's own but now it seems to get worse..



And I really noticed that the pain is worse after sleep and my pillow is not comfortable; I thought about changing it.

An usual soft pillow is not good; now I use a more hard buckwheat pillow, better but still problematic.



Would you recommend anything specific regarding to choosing a pillow?
What about those so called "memory" pillows?

[ampire]

I will try shrugs, definitely.
And I agree on PT's, I actually were to a one long time ago and he prescribed exactly just that lol.

Why not cracking tho? It def feels good, at least at the moment.





Anyway, the issue seems to be chronic, it used to be on and off but very minor, and usually it resolved on it's own but now it seems to get worse..



And I really noticed that the pain is worse after sleep and my pillow is not comfortable; I thought about changing it.

An usual soft pillow is not good; now I use a more hard buckwheat pillow, better but still problematic.



Would you recommend anything specific regarding to choosing a pillow?
What about those so called "memory" pillows?

I think cracking can make your neck's joints worse over time. Also worst case it can damage arteries in your neck and lead to stroke and paralysis, however I think that is pretty unlikely. I think if you are experiencing degenerative changes in your neck such as arthritis cracking it will make it wear out faster.

For pillow I don't have a great answer I had to experiment with different arrangements, I eventually ended up having a pair of really thin old flat down filled pillows and crammed them around my head and neck so the whole thing fit my neck and skull contours and I slept on my side, it seemed to work, probably not the best recommendation to make though. Its a really subjective thing but mainly I'd recommend experimentation because if you get sleeping right it makes a big difference.

[HeMB]

I think cracking can make your neck's joints worse over time. Also worst case it can damage arteries in your neck and lead to stroke and paralysis, however I think that is pretty unlikely. I think if you are experiencing degenerative changes in your neck such as arthritis cracking it will make it wear out faster.

For pillow I don't have a great answer I had to experiment with different arrangements, I eventually ended up having a pair of really thin old flat down filled pillows and crammed them around my head and neck so the whole thing fit my neck and skull contours and I slept on my side, it seemed to work, probably not the best recommendation to make though. Its a really subjective thing but mainly I'd recommend experimentation because if you get sleeping right it makes a big difference.

yeah man sleep is very important.

For me it's a major factor, during the day I do not feel much pain but as soon as I go to sleep, I start feeling tightness building up and when I wake up in the night I feel some aching and in the morning it's the worst but eventually it stops.

[Garage Rat]

See a medical professional for your neck issue.
Get a proper diagnosis.
Know one here knows exactly what your issue is and can only speculate on it and possibly give you wrong advise.
It's an area that can be very vulnerable.
Maybe a chiropractor or physical therapist that works with athletes can be of help.

[HeMB]

See a medical professional for your neck issue.
Get a proper diagnosis.
Know one here knows exactly what your issue is and can only speculate on it and possibly give you wrong advise.
It's an area that can be very vulnerable.
Maybe a chiropractor or physical therapist that works with athletes can be of help.

The issue here is that I visited one previously becaue of the same issue. No real help.