Exercise for Neck Pain
Video Shared by Dr. Antonio Flaquer
You ever go throughout your day and realize how often you try and stretch out your upper back or neck to try and get rid of that tension you’re holding? Well, then this is an exercise for you that you should be doing. IWTL’S is an exercise focusing on the midback and upper back and even the neck. This is a great exercise for people who sit at a desk a lot or have really forward posture. What people don’t realize, is when you’re sitting in those awkward positions all the time such as leaning forward, your spine becomes trained to be in that position majority of the time, then the next thing that happens is pain starts setting in. There are many people in this world that you will find have that type of posture and it doesn’t bother them. But I can bet you that they had some type of pain or discomfort in the past and now that their bodies have adapted to the way they are now, it doesn’t bother them. That’s where you want to fix the issue, rather than allow it to continue happening.
The first way to avoid it from getting worse is getting it adjusted. Adjustments will restore motion in the spine which will allow the joints to be able to not be and feel so stiff. Now, how do you make sure you don’t end up like a hunch back and make sure pain doesn’t return? You must exercise and strengthen those muscles that are causing stiffness in your back or tightness because those muscles are inactivated. They are not doing their job of maintaining proper posture and proper movement throughout your spine. This exercise is an easy one to start off with. I usually have patients do two rounds of these 30 second holds in each position and work their way up to a full minute. This exercise won’t solve your issues sadly, but if you have some issues arising or already present then come in and see us so we can help you to get back to feeling better sooner than later.
Reference
Oakley, P. A., Harrison, D. D., Harrison, D. E., & Haas, J. W. (2005, December). Evidence-based protocol for structural rehabilitation of the spine and posture: Review of clinical biomechanics of posture (CBP) publications. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1840024/
Our Message
We love to help our patients in St. Louis Park stay healthy. We are here to relieve back pain, neck pain and headaches while also teaching about how our diet and stress effects our over all health. By improving these areas of our lives we can become healthier, stay out of pain and reduce risk of diseases. Our Chiropractors located in the West End, near the corner of MN-100 S & Lake Rd./Westside Dr.., want to help you stay healthy and out of pain!