Neck Pain

You MUST know these moves to relieve back or neck pain. I’m a trainer and these are the 3 moves you MUST know to beat back or neck pain Experts warn that sitting at a desk all day or driving for long periods of time is bad for your neck and spine Relaxing and stretching your muscles, taking regular breaks and relaxing can help By Rebecca Whittaker For Mailonline Updated: 07:50 EDT 20 May 2023 Sitting at a computer or driving for long periods of time can be terrible for our posture, causing us to suffer from crippling neck and back pain. There are some very simple things that millions of people can do to avoid any discomfort. As we’ve heard for years, this can include taking regular breaks and spending less time on your phone. According to Dr Darren Player of London, a personal trainer, there are a few exercises that can also help. Dr Player is a lecturer at University College London who specializes in musculoskeletal engineering. He has shared his tips with MailOnline. These simple exercises can relieve neck and upper back discomfort. The exercises involve rotating the neck, keeping the head in neutral position and strengthening upper back muscle. Exercises include rotating the neck, strengthening the upper back muscles and keeping the head in neutral position. Beginners should do six to eight repetitions with a break of 60 seconds — repeated up to 3 times. Dr Player suggests that you can increase this to eight to ten repetitions, for a maximum of five sets. He said: “These exercises can easily be done multiple times per day and, more importantly, during breaks when posture has been fixed over a long period of time. ‘Perform movements slowly, and only move in a range that is comfortable. Stop immediately if you feel any pain. Neutral posture According to Dr Player, simply standing in neutral position can help relieve your upper back and neck. Start by standing with feet hip-widths apart. Relax your shoulders and hold your head in neutral forward position. Try to practice this simple movement multiple times per day. Dr Player said that this will relax muscles after postures have been fixed for a long period of time. You should not sit in one position for longer than an hour. He said that taking breaks and moving about will help reduce muscle tension. Neck rotations Rotating your neck can relieve pain, especially if you’re stooped over your phone and have been for a long time. Dr Player recommends three types of neck exercise: neck rotation, neck extension and flexion, and a lateral bend. Turn your head slowly from left-to-right, until you can see your shoulder. You must lower your head so that it is close to your chest, and then raise it to a position where you are able to see the ceiling or sky. For lateral flexion, rotate the ear slowly to the opposite side. Dr Player recommends that you perform these neck rotations six to eight times with a break of 60 seconds before repeating the exercise three times. Even if you just spend less time on your phone, this can help. He said: “Reducing the time we spend on our devices, and changing how we use them, can have an immediate impact.” If you’re using your device, raise it up so that you don’t have to strain your neck in order to see too far down. Shoulder squeeze Increase your muscle strength and flexibility to relieve upper back pain. Dr Player says that the shoulder squeeze helps to improve posture by opening the chest, working the central muscles in the back. To perform the move, raise both arms in front of you to shoulder height and bend the elbows so that the arms are at a 90-degree angle. Imagine that you are squeezing a orange between your shoulder blades. Hold it in the squeezed-position before returning and repeating this move.

May 23, 2023

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I’m a personal trainer – these are the three moves you NEED to know to beat any back or neck pain

Sitting at a desk or driving all day is terrible for your neck and back, experts say
But taking regular breaks, relaxing and stretching your muscles can help

By Rebecca Whittaker For Mailonline

Updated: 07:50 EDT, 20 May 2023

Sitting at a desk or driving all day is awful for our posture and can leave us in total agony with crippling back and neck pain.

Fortunately for millions of us, there are some very basic things that can be done to prevent any discomfort.

This, as we’ve been told for years, can include taking regular breaks from sitting in the same position and spending less time looking down at your phone.

But, according to London-based personal trainer Dr Darren Player, there are also a few simple exercises that can help.

Dr Player, a lecturer in musculoskeletal bioengineering based at University College London, has now shared how to do them with MailOnline.

These simple exercises can help the discomfort of neck and upper back pain. The moves involve keeping the head in a neutral position, rotating the neck and strengthening upper back muscles

The exercises involve keeping the head in a neutral position, rotating the neck and strengthening upper back muscles.

Beginners should perform six to eight repetitions of each with a 60 second break — repeated up to three times.

This can be increased to eight to 10 repetitions for up to five repeated sets, suggests Dr Player.

He said: ‘These exercises can be completed multiple times a day, and importantly during breaks where posture has been fixed for an extended period.

‘Perform the movements slowly and only move within a range of motion that is comfortable. If you experience any pain, stop immediately.’

Neutral posture

Simply standing in a neutral position can help ease your upper back and neck, according to Dr Player.

Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and focus on relaxing the shoulders and holding your head in a ‘neutral’ forward position.

Take regular breaths and try practice this simple move multiple times a day.

Dr Player said this will relax the muscles after posture has been fixed for an extended period.

‘You should not be sitting in a fixed position for more than one hour at a time. Factoring in rest breaks and moving around will help to reduce muscle tension,’ he said.

Neck rotations

Rotating your neck, especially when you are sat stooped staring at your phone for long periods of time, can help relive you of pain.

There are three types of neck exercises that Dr Player recommends: neck rotation, neck flexion and extension and a lateral flexion.

For the neck rotation, turn the head slowly from left to right, to the point where you can just see over your shoulder.

The neck flexion and extension require you to lower your head down so you come close to your chest and then raise your head to the position where you can see mainly the ceiling or sky above you.

For the lateral flexion, move the ear towards the shoulder on one side before slowly rotating to the other side.

Complete these neck rotations for six to eight repetitions with a 60 second break before repeating three times, says Dr Player.

But just spending less time glued to your phone can also help.

He said: ‘Simply reducing the time we are on our devices and adjusting how we look at them can have immediate impact.

‘If you are on your device, try to elevate it so you are not having to strain your neck to look too far down.’

Shoulder squeeze

You can ease upper back pain by increasing muscle strength and flexibility.

The shoulder squeeze works the central muscles of the back, opens the chest and helps improve posture, says Dr Player.

To do the move, raise your arms to in front of you and to shoulder height, then bend the elbow so the arms are at 90-degree angles.

Then, imagine you are squeezing an orange between the upper part of your shoulder blades.

Hold it in the squeezed position before returning and repeating the move.

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