Exercises for the Neck

I thought I'd start with the part of the body that gives me the maximum trouble.

Golden Rules:(for all body parts)
1. Learn to differentiate between a "stretch" pain and a sharp pain. Stretch pain is good but sharp pain is a complete NO. If it hurts sharply, stop at once.
2. When in doubt, refer Rule 1.

The neck needs to be treated very very gently, for obvious reasons.

Ones that can be done at work, multiple times a day:

1. For starters, just drop your neck such that the chin touches the chest. The back must be straight. Shoulders must be straight too, with no hunch. Hands can be placed on the arm rests such that the elbow makes a 90 degree angle with the upper arm, or place your hands in your lap. Feet completely flat on the ground, and the leg making 90 degree angle with the thigh. Stay this way for at least 15 seconds.

2. Tilt the neck backwards, as far as possible i.e. chin is pointing towards the sky. Rest of the body remains as in (1). 10-15 seconds again.

3. Turn the head to your right, preferrably at 90 degrees from the straight, but keep in mind the golden rules. There should be no upward or downward tilt. Stay for a few seconds. Turn Left now. Alternate a few times.

4. A complete roll of the head. Starting position: Refer (1) above. Now, start making a slow circle by tilting you neck towards the right. Remember, in this case, when you reach the side, the position of your head will be different from how it was in (3) above. The correct position when the neck is turned to the side is where the ear is as close as possible to the shoulder. Do not lift your shoulder. A complete round should not take less than 8 seconds. Repeat in both directions a few times each.

Other often repeatd points:

a) The eye should be in line with the top of the monitor/screen.
b) Blink often
c) Look away frequently
d) Do not ever hunch, no matter what.

A few that can be done once a day:

Please be careful while attempting these

5. Link your fingers behind your back such that the palms face inward (towards your back)...at probably your hip level. The hands must be straight..so straighten those elbows...and the shoulders must pull backward. Now, keeping those elbows straight, slowly lift the hand as high as possible. Now, very slowly, I repeat, slowly, do exercises (1) and (2) from above.

6. Stand facing your back to a window such that you can grip the windows with your hands, and elbows bent. Now hold the grill with both your hands at say, the mid-back height and straighten your elbows, without moving your feet....i.e you will have to lean forward. Keep elbows straight and shoulders back and slowly, repeat exercises (1) and (2)

While sleeping:

I dont advise you to sleep without a pillow, but if you do, thats great. Otherwise use a thin pillow and make sure only the head is on it and not the complete neck. Don't sleep on your stomach.

These should help the neck pain. Exercises (5) and (6) are great for the shoulder also. The first few days will be painful but you should start feeling better within a few days of doing these religiously.

There are more..basically variations to the same..I'll expain them if needed. Let me know the results.