Exercises | Physiotherapy for a HWS syndrome

Exercises

Cervical Cervical Syndrome Exercise 1 To strengthen stabilizing muscles and to give the structures of the cervical spine more space by stretching it, the patient first lies in a supine position with the feet upright. The head lies flat on the pad. Now an attempt is made to push the back of the head straight down and at the same time to push the chin backwards as if a double chin is being made.

This stretches the neck and stabilizes it at the same time. This position is held three times for 10 seconds each. The physiotherapist checks that the patient does not place the head in the back of the neck – i.e. that the neck is not loaded incorrectly again – and that the muscles in the front part of the neck remain loose.

Cervical Spine Syndrome Exercise 2 Another strengthening exercise from physiotherapy for cervical spine syndrome uses the long lever of the arms as a complication. In an upright position – this always starts with the feet, which are positioned parallel, hip-wide apart, the lower back is straightened, the chest is extended upwards and the neck stretched as explained above – the arms are held out on both sides. The palms of the hands point towards the floor.

The backs of the hands should be at shoulder height all the time, not higher. When tired, the heavy arms sink down quickly, correct again and hold for a few more seconds. Alternatively, the stretched arms can be sprung in small quick movements up and down, the body should remain stable and still.

Another variation is the rotation of the arms. In quick alternation, the stretched arms are turned up and down, so that the back of the hand and the palm of the hand alternately face the floor or the ceiling. Try to work in the opposite direction: if the left palm is facing down, the right palm is facing up.

This trains your coordination. In another static exercise from physiotherapy for a cervical spine syndrome, the patient gives himself resistance on his head. His own hand presses against the temple, forehead or other points.

The patient tries to keep the head straight against the resistance. Cervical Cervical Syndrome Exercise 3 To train the coordination in physiotherapy for cervical syndrome, a headband with attached laser pointer is placed on the patient’s head. The patient should sit upright in front of a white wall and draw a line with the pointer without deviating by moving his head.

Alternatively the physiotherapist holds the laser pointer and the patient should follow the point on the wall with his eyes and head movements. Cervical Cervical Syndrome Exercise 4 The patient can mobilize blocked vertebrae by himself using a towel. The towel is folded into a long strip and placed with its upper edge against the spinous process of the blocked vertebra in the neck.

With the hands, the ends of the towel are held tightly forward, the chin and the back of the head are dynamically pushed backwards against the towel pull and released again. As long as this is comfortable, the exercise can be repeated several times. More exercises can be found under:

  • Cervical spine syndrome exercises
  • Cervical spine syndrome exercises with the Theraband

To stretch the neck muscles, the patient assumes an upright sitting position.

The head is tilted to the side so that the ear approaches the shoulder – but the shoulder is not raised. The shoulder on the opposite side pushes down towards the floor. To increase the stretching, the head is now turned additionally to the inclined side. Hold the stretch on each side for 30 seconds and release it slowly. Before stretching, it is a good idea to warm up and loosen up the structures a little by circling the shoulder and arms backwards a few times.