Binge-Proof Your Neck: Self Care Strategies for Stiff Neck
Is this you?
It’s 7:00 P.M. — you just went home tired from work, or you might have just finished with all your chores at home and wanted to relax. You heard from a friend a certain TV show/KDrama that they highly recommend you watch. You said to yourself that you are only going to watch the first episode to check if the show is any good.
And good, it was! It’s now 1:30 A.M. and you’re already hooked with the show and ended up finishing one season. You found yourself waking up in the morning with soreness and stiffness in the neck.
With so many of us binge watching shows into our computers or in our smart phones most of the day, it’s no wonder that current data from the CDC reports that nearly 20% of us have experienced neck pain within the past three months.
Stiffness of the neck happens when our neck and upper back is stuck in “less than ideal” position/s over a prolonged period of time. (eg. poor sleeping position, watching TV shows in a stooped posture). The joints thereafter stiffens up and muscles start to guard. That’s one of the reasons why range of motion in the neck becomes limited and it hurts when you move.
Neck — Self Care Strategies:
One tip I can give when you start feeling symptoms of stiff neck is to work on easing through the movement by doing gentle passive stretches of the muscles around the neck and upper back. This helps put your neck into a more neutral posture while keeping the muscles around the joint relaxed.
“Ease through the movement by doing gentle passive stretches of the muscles around the neck and upper back.”
5 Muscles You Want to Stretch When You Feel Tension or Pain on Your Neck
Suboccipitals — these muscles are deeply situated at the base of your skull. When your head looks like it’s going to fall backwards, it’s a probable sign that these muscles might be tight.
PRO TIP: It’s good to stretch out these muscles when you feel headaches or migraines after sitting in front of your computer or smartphones for a long period of time.
Sternocleidomastoid — when your head looks like it’s shifted forward in relation to your torso, there’s a high likelihood that these muscles might be stiff. Stretching this muscles reduces tension and overall compressive forces in the neck.
Upper Traps — you see those “buff guys” who walks out of the gym with shrugged shoulders. This muscle is on fire when our shoulders are hiked and it can greatly affect the neck. Making sure this muscle is relaxed is key to prevent a lot shoulder and neck pain.
Levator Scapulae — to minimize stress on the neck and upper back, creating length and improving tone of this muscle greatly helps a lot of neck and shoulder stiffness/pain. Shoulder girdle posture is directly related to cervical and thoracic posture. Making sure that all these joint work in sync can help manage pain/discomfort on these areas.
Scalenes — this muscle attaches to your neck down to your ribs and allowing this muscle to be flexible improves overall neck mobility and function.
That’s it! ✌️Enjoy binge watching !
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