If neck pain is getting in the way of your life, you’re not alone. Many of the patients we see at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine have neck pain and are struggling just like you. You may find that simple things like working on the computer and sleeping are painful. You can’t think as well, and you may be avoiding exercise because your neck hurts.
The good news is there are simple exercises you can do to get rid of neck pain and live your best life again.
To get rid of neck pain, it helps to understand its cause. Some times the neck muscles themselves are the cause of your neck pain. We discussed some solutions to this cause in a prior post here.
Another common cause of neck pain is stiffness and weakness in your upper back. When this area isn’t working correctly, it causes extra stress on your neck and eventually neck pain. The exercises below will help to get your upper back working optimally again.
Tall Kneeling Trunk Rotation
This a great exercise to do to break up your day if you are sitting at a computer for work. It can help to get your upper back moving again as well as turn on some of the upper back muscles that shut off when you sit for awhile.
To do this exercise correctly, keep your hips pushed forward and your chest opened up the entire time you are turning your trunk.
You should feel this working in your butt muscles and upper back.
Turn as far as you can and hold that position for 5 seconds, then repeat to the opposite side. Do 10-15 reps to each side.
Open Book Shoulder Sweeps
This is another exercise to work on improving the movement of your upper back. It also helps to stretch out your chest muscles.
Take your arm as high as you can go while keeping it on the floor. Breath in and out 1 time at the top.
Try 5 reps to each side to start. As it gets easier, increase the hold time or the reps.
Prone T
You don’t need to lie on a fancy table like this video shows. You can do this lying on the edge of your bed, a gym bench, or even on the floor.
The most important part is getting your elbows as high off the floor as possible.
Hold for 5 seconds at the top and then return to the start position. Start with 2 sets of 10 every other day and work up to 3 sets of 10.
None of the exercises above should make you hurt more.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, our physical therapists are experts at treating neck pain and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here and a member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t try have a plan to solve your neck pain?
- Your work days are miserable because your neck hurts
- You neck hurts and you wake up tired because you aren’t sleeping well
- You you stop working out, leading to other diseases and injuries
But WITH a plan for no more neck pain you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to solve hip pain and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
