Heat/hot roll
Another way to relax the cervical spine is the treatment with heat. A special form of heat application is the so-called hot roll, which also has a massage effect. This improves blood circulation in the tense areas and relieves cramps.
You can also use the hot roll yourself at home. Simply ask a friend or your partner for help. You only need 1 cotton cloth, 3 terry towels and 1l of hot water.
Fold all towels once lengthwise. Then roll up the cotton cloth tightly, as this forms the core of the hot roll. Now roll the terry towels one after the other tightly over the cotton towel, so that a funnel is formed.
Now pour the hot water into this funnel. If you have done everything right, no water will drip out at the bottom. Now ask your partner/friend to massage the affected area with the roller.
PMR
Another way to relax the cervical spine is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR for short). It was already developed in the 1920s by the American Edmund Jacobson. The goal of PMR is to achieve a better awareness of the body through targeted tension and relaxation in order to specifically relax certain muscle groups.
To carry out the procedure, it can be helpful to have the guidance of an experienced therapist at the beginning. At first it is important to get a better feeling about your body. PMR is best performed in a quiet, somewhat darkened room.
Take about 20-30 minutes at the beginning.Make yourself comfortable and then consciously tense each muscle in your body one after the other for a few seconds. If you have some practice, you will be able to relax specific muscle groups and thus prevent problems or alleviate existing complaints. You will find detailed information on how to do this in the article Progressive muscle relaxation.
Autogenic Training
Also autogenic training is a relaxation technique that can help with cervical spine problems. Autogenic training is based on autosuggestion, which means that it uses idioms that help the subconscious believe in something in order to bring about a state of relaxation. In contrast to PMR, the affected person puts himself in a state of complete relaxation.
In autogenic training, various exercises are performed to achieve the greatest possible relaxation. An example of this is the introductory rest exercise. This is to strengthen the concentration, in that in the spirit the sentence ́ ́Ich bin völlig ruhig, nichts kann mich stören ́ ́wiederholt werden.
Which kind of relaxation technique is suitable for whom depends on the individual person and his character. You will find detailed instructions for autogenic training in the article Autogenic Training.