2 To strengthen the front neck muscles, lie on
your back on the floor with your knees bent and
your feet on the floor. Roll your head slightly to tuck
your chin in, hold it carefully in, and lift the back of
your head only a centimetre or two (half an inch)
off the floor. Hold that position for ten seconds,
then relax and rest. Repeat the exercise until you
have done it ten times.
It’s most important that this exercise be done
accurately – don’t let the chin poke out or the
head come too far off the floor. To start with, if you
can’t hold the position for a full ten seconds, just
hold it correctly for as long as you can. Also, if you
can’t do ten lifts in a row, just do as many as you
can correctly. Don’t be discouraged if it’s hard – it
may take weeks before you are strong enough to
manage ten full ten-second lifts in a row.
If your front neck muscles are really weak, and with
your chin held in you can’t lift your head off the floor
at all - don’t give up. It’s just where you’re starting
from and they’ll get stronger - muscles are really
good at that. Just do the exercise as described in
the first paragraph but don’t even try to lift the head
off as well. When you can firmly hold your chin in for
10 seconds, 10 times in a row, and do three lots of
that easily enough – then you’ll be strong enough to
start lifting the head off as well.
The reason for these two exercises is to get the
muscles strong enough to use during the day
to hold your neck and upper back in a neutral
position which won’t strain muscles or joints. This is
explained on the next page: ‘Posture’.
11
Home care programme
View our instruction videos online
at www.bodystance.co.nz/backpod.php
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