Stretching and Relaxing Exercises for a Stiff Neck

Noddy,

I've been reading, "Coping With Anxiety, by Edmund Bourne, PhD. It lists a number of relaxation exercises. I'll write up a few of them and post back in a bit.

J_B--

Thanks.

If you know of a psychic site for Left Luggage Storage.....

a wash cloth warmed with tap water works wonders.
Make sure it isnt dripping and lay it across your shoulders.
While sitting down try to look as far as you can in each direction with out moving your shoulders.
If this proves to be too painful, then just go to your limit.
To maximize this use a high back chair to help you to remember to keep your shoulders from moving.

Slow neck circles work well also.

another one is to sit with your back as straight as possible and ' pinch ' your shoulders together.
First in front, then in back. Imagine that you are able to touch the outsides of your shoulders together in front of you and behind you. This stretches out the lower neck muscles that are between the shoulder blades . Those tend to be the culpurate when it comes to neck pains.
Another way to stretch those muscles is to hold your arms straight out to the sides of you and slowly touch your head to your upper arm as best you can. You should feel a pull in the center of your back between your shoulder blades.


Anytime you do these, use the warm wash cloth. It increases blood flow and relaxes your muscles so the stretches wont hurt and you will gain more from them.

Another good thing to do is to switch out your pillows every few days. When you do that, you reajust the way your neck is aligned at night . Sometimes, reoccuring neck pain is simply from sleep positions.

My neck gives me trouble as well. Some random stuff I've noticed...

If you massage, don't just work the muscles along side your neck vertebrae. Neck tension is usually tied up with tension alongside the jaw and over the temples (which are also jaw muscles). Might be useful to work the muscles under the jaw (the "tongue root"), as well, and to try and relax the muscles around the eyes.

Playing with the ears (gently folding, rotating, moving around on the side of the head) can help relieve tension that's built up in the ear muscles -- when I've been through long stressful periods I sometimes get the sense that my ears are pinned back, and find that they are in fact being pulled taught by their muscles (think of a frightened and subservient dog...).

Also, some shoulder muscles (like the trapezius) attach to the neck), so working on knots in the upper shoulders can also be helpful in freeing the neck.

Some useful points:
The spots at the base of the back of the skull where the muscles that run along either side of the vertebrae attach.
The edge of the thin, fan-shaped temporalis muscle over the ear. I find that I benefit a lot from just putting pressure at points along this line.
The point where the masseter (jaw) muscle runs up under and onto the cheek bone just in front of the ear.

I also find it useful to work the tissue behind the vertical portion of the jaw and then down alongside the throat, though the wife finds this a bit painful. There are a lot of structures running in there -- some cranial nerves, salivary glands, lymphatics, and blood vessels in addition to some bits of the inner ear and some fairly complicated musculature. Slowly running my fingers down from just below the foremost attachment of my ear lobe to where the some of the muscles that run alongside the trachea start to converge toward the top of the sternum gives me a sense that stuff is getting flowing (spit and lymph, probably) and helps me relax my head and neck.




Just some thoughts...

Shewolf--

Thanks.

I can't do neck circles or ear-to-shoulder exercises yet, but the head turning and shoulder blade wiggling are reducing the stiffness.

Along with what shewolf is saying, you might consider a heating pad draped over a neck pillow -- or even one of those old fashioned hot water bottles. Helps do all the warming stuff and helps restore the natural curvature of the neck.

be careful though.
Those tend to be TOO hot and not knowing what is going on with her neck, I would be safer knowing what ever you used was just as warm as your tap water and not warmer.

example, torn muscles dont benefit from extreme heat therapy. Damaged tendons dont either.
There are alot of very imporant tendons in that area.

When the wrag you use is ' just warm enough' you tend to be more mindful of it then it if is really hot.
After a while, high heat isnt felt as much anymore and damage can begin.

Mmmmm, damage.

Good point, though -- a person never stay on a heating pad for more than a few minutes, and should always have a towel between them and it. Had a chiropracter way back when who put you on a heating pad for a few minutes before adjusting, is why I thought of it. Have never had one of my own....

mmmm.. I love the treatments I get from a chiropracter. Those always felt the best.
but if you notice, they only warm thiers up to about 105 degrees.. wich.. is a little warmer then most tap water.

it only takes , if I remember correctly, 7 degrees of heat above the natural body temperature to envoke better blood flow to an area.

PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION - from Coping with Anxiety by E. Bourne, PhD.

The entire progressive muscle relaxation sequence should take twenty to thirty minute the first time. With practice you may decrease the time needed to fifteen to twenty minutes.

Sit in a comfortable chair or lay on a bed. Try to do this in the morning, not as you're about to go to sleep. It is best to do these exercises on an empty stomach.

Let your body be unencumbered. Make a decision not to worry about anything. Assume a passive, detached attitude.

Tense, don't strain each muscle group. Concentrate on what is happening by visualizing the particular muscle group being tensed. Let go, when releasing the tension do so abruptly, and then relax for at least 15 to 20 seconds before going on to the next group of muscles.

Try repeating a relaxing phrase, such as 'let it go' or 'just relax' during the relaxation period between successive muscle groups.

Maintain your focus on your muscles. When your attention wanders, bring it back to the particular muscle group you're working on.

1. To begin, take three deep abdominal breaths, exhaling slowly through your nose each time. As you exhale, imagine the tension throughout your body beginning to flow away.

2. Clench your fists. Hold for seven to ten seconds and then release for fifteen to twenty seconds. Use the same time intervals for all other muscle groups.

3. Tighten your biceps by drawing your forearms up toward your shoulders and making a muscle with both arms. Hold ... and then relax.

4. Tighten your triceps by extending your arms out straight and locking your elbows. Hold ... and then relax.

5. Tense the muscles in your forehead by raising your eyebrows as far as you can. Hold ... and then relax. Imagine your forehead muscles becoming smooth and limp as they relax.

6. Tense the muscles around your eyes by clenching your eyelids tightly shut. Hold ... and then relax. Imagine sensations of deep relaxation spreading all around the area of your eyes.

7. Tighten your jaw by opening your mouth so widely that you stretch the muscles around the hinges of your jaw. Hold ... and then relax. Let your lips part and allow your jaw to hang loose.

8. Tighten the muscles in the back of your neck by pulling your head way back,, as if you were going to touch your head to your back (be gentle with this muscle group to avoid injury). Focus only on the tensing the muscles in your neck. Hold ... and then relax. Since this area is often especially tight, it's good to do this tense-relax cycle twice.

9. Take a few deep breaths and tune in to the weight of your head sinking into whatever surface it is resting on.

10. Tighten your shoulders by raising them up as if you were going to touch your ears. Hold ... and then relax.

11. Tighten the muscles around your shoulder blades by pushing your shoulder blades back as if your were going to touch them together. Hold ... and then relax. Since this area is often especially tense, you might repeat this tense-relax cycle twice.

12. Tighten the muscles of your chest by taking in a deep breath. Hold for up to ten seconds ... and then release slowly. Imagine any excess tension in your chest flowing away with the exhalation.

13. Tighten your stomach muscles by sucking your stomach in. Hold ... and then release. Imagine a wave of relaxation spreading through your abdomen.

14. Tighten your lower back by arching it up. (You can omit this exercise if you have lower back pain.) Hold ... and then relax.

15. Tighten your buttocks by pulling them together. Hold ... and then relax. Imagine the muscles in your hips going loose and limp.

16. Squeeze the muscles in your thighs all the way down to your knees. You will probably have to tighten your hips along with your thighs, since the thigh muscles attach at the pelvis. Hold ... and then relax. Feel your thigh muscles smoothing out and relaxing completely.

17. Tighten your calf muscles by pulling your toes toward your (flex carefully to avoid cramps). Hold ... and then relax.

18. Tighten your feel by curling your toes downward. Hold ... and then relax.

19. Mentally scan your body for any residual tension. If a particular area remains tense, repeat one or tow tense-relax cycles for that group of muscles.

20. Now imagine a wave of relaxation slowly spreading throughout your body, starting at your head and gradually penetrating every muscle group all the way down to your toes.

if the aching is due to stress then really tensing the muscles of the neck, shoulders and jaw and then totally relaxing a few times can help.

Shewolf--

I have both a dry heating pad and a moist heating pad and a hot water bottle, but even with air conditioning, I haven't used them yet. Temperatures outside are in the low 90's and since I'm losing fat cells I'm liberating stored estrogen and having hot flashes.

A combination of exercises, self-massage and opiates is breaking the pain/tension cycle.

Patiodog--

I've added some of your suggestions to my massage routine. One of the advantages of Pains in the Neck is that you can get Hands On with the problem.

My facial muscles seem contented enough--not surprising given my tendency to unrestrained lip and sass. My neck bones are connected to my shoulder bones which are connected to my back bones...

J_B--

That relaxing routine looks very comprehensive. When I can move Mr. Noddy and the Family Dog from the marital bed, I'll give it a try.
When I think about my problems, my blood pressure starts to rise and this routine should help there also.

E. Bourne's stretches remind me of the stretches of a very fit and contented cat

Thank you.

Somedays I envy out-and-out Drama Queens--I bet they don't have stiff necks or blood pressure spikes or guilty consciences.

Vivian--

Tense and relax. Tense and relax. Mantra for the day. Tense and relax.

Thank you.

Do you have a place to go that you can just.. turn off?

Unfortunately Mr. Noddy is becoming more and more unpredictable as his mind frays. I can deal with the fraying mind--the real bitch is coping with his coping mechanisms.

Can you draw a picture of "D" for "Denial"?

Pain in the neck!

Go easy on the old guy, Noddy. What's he ever done to you?

I've noticed that in you, pd. A gentle undercurrent of unpredictability flows through you which I believe in time will transform into a raging torrent.