Sitting still for long periods of time at a desk can cause neck pain. In addition to maintaining correct posture, it's important to engage in exercises that promote neck health. What exercises are good for the neck?
Neck stretching exercises to prevent cervical spondylosis
The exercise is simple and can be done sitting or standing. Start by separating your feet to shoulder-width apart, with your arms hanging by your sides and fingertips pointing downwards (if sitting, place your palms on your thighs with palms facing downwards). Keep your eyes level with the horizon and relax your whole body. Slowly lift your head upwards towards the sky, extending your neck as much as possible, while simultaneously lifting your chest and abdomen upwards. Then, slowly move your extended neck forwards and downwards, followed by a slow backward and upward movement, and finally return to the starting position.
Health benefits: This neck stretching exercise improves blood supply to the neck muscles and ligaments, increasing blood circulation and making the muscles and ligaments stronger. It also increases bone density, preventing osteoporosis and reducing the occurrence of cervical spondylosis.
Flying a kite benefits the neck
When flying a kite, the entire body's bones and muscles are involved in movement. As flying a kite requires standing with an upright posture, looking around and keeping the head up, it helps to maintain tension in the neck and spine, preserve the elasticity of ligaments, and maintain the zero-firing line of the spinal joints. This is beneficial for enhancing bone metabolism, strengthening the neck and spine's compensatory function, preventing vertebral body and ligament degeneration, and effectively preventing cervical spondylosis.
Shoulder shrugging exercises for neck maintenance
The correct way to do shoulder shrugging is to keep your head straight, chest lifted, and arms vertical to your sides. Then, simultaneously raise both shoulders upward as much as possible, creating a tingling sensation in the neck and shoulders. After holding the raised position for one second, forcefully lower the shoulders. One raise and lower movement counts as one repetition, and aim to do 16 repetitions in one set. Do 3 to 5 sets in the morning and evening, accumulating a total of 100-120 repetitions each day. This exercise allows the shoulders to move and massages the neck with the shoulders, promoting smooth blood flow in the shoulder and neck area and helping to relax the muscles and improve blood circulation.
Head movements for the prevention and treatment of cervical spondylosis
Head movements can effectively relax and exercise the neck muscles, promote circulation in the neck muscles, improve localized accumulative injuries, facilitate functional recovery in injured areas, maintain the normal state of the neck's dynamic system, and prevent cervical spondylosis.
Types and methods of head movements
To prevent cervical spondylosis, choose movements with a large range of motion, gentle force, and slow speed. Here are a few movements that can be done in sequence each day.
Turning the head left and right
Do this exercise while taking deep breaths. Inhale and slowly turn the head towards the left, exhale and return to the starting position. Then, inhale and slowly turn the head towards the right, exhale and return to the starting position.
Bending forward and backward
Practice this exercise while taking deep breaths. Inhale and slowly bend the head forward, bringing the chin close to the chest. Exhale and slowly tilt the head backward to the maximum extent.
Tilting the head to the sides
Inhale and tilt the head towards the left as much as possible, exhale and return to the starting position. Then, inhale and tilt the head towards the right as much as possible, exhale and return to the starting position.
Stretching exercises
Inhale and stretch the head towards the left front, exhale and return to the starting position. Then, inhale and stretch the head towards the right front, exhale and return to the starting position.
