A sedentary occupation at work and in everyday life, the permanent view of the cell phone display, all this in combination with a lack of physical activity often leads to tension in the neck and pain in the cervical spine. This uneven/natural strain on the cervical spine often causes pain, which in the long term can lead to serious wear-related injuries such as spinal canal stenosis and/or herniated discs.
6 simple exercises to imitate
1. exercise – “double chin” 2. exercise – “head raising” 3. exercise – “cervical mobi” 4. exercise – “latflex stretch” 5. exercise – “extension stretch” 6. exercise – “flexion stretch
Exercises for the cervical spine
Physiotherapy Exercise Cervical Spine 1 In order to strengthen stabilizing muscles in the cervical spine and to give the structures of the cervical spine more space by stretching them, the patient lies in a supine position with the feet on their feet. The head lies flat on the surface. 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.
- There are devices that measure the pressure with which the head is pressed onto the surface. This way it can be checked whether it can be held evenly. Alternatively, the physiotherapist can place his hand under the patient’s head and feel the pressure.
If this exercise is well mastered, the head can also be raised slightly.
- In addition, the same exercise can be practiced afterwards in sitting and standing position. In this way, the patient is later able to stretch the neck in any everyday situation – such as long car journeys. At the same time, the patient is given the feeling of a straight cervical spine (cervical spine), so that after some time he can control and correct himself.
Physiotherapy Exercise Cervical Spine 2 To train coordination in the cervical spine (cervical spine) during physiotherapy, a headband with a laser pointer attached to it 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.
- Blocked vertebrae can be mobilized by the patient himself by means of a towel.
The towel is folded into a long strip and placed with its upper edge against the spinous process of the blocked vertebrae of the cervical spine in the neck. With the hands, the ends of the towel are held tautly 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.
Physiotherapy Exercise Cervical Spine 3 To stretch the neck muscles during physiotherapy, 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 of 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. In general, it is important to build up stabilization from below through the exercises in physiotherapy. This means first stabilizing the trunk, training the abdomen and back so that shoulders and head can sit straight on it. The wrong way is to pull the shoulders down with all your strength at the back, so that the neck becomes even more tense. and “Physiotherapy Cervical Spine Syndrome
- Before stretching the muscles of the cervical spine (cervical spine), it is a good idea to warm up and loosen the structures a little by circling the shoulders and arms backwards a few times.
