Bad neck posture is often described as iHunch, because it is what you get when you lean too far forwards (usually when you hunch to use computers), putting pressure on your neck and shoulders. The result is usually pain and discomfort along your neck. This, however, can be fixed by a couple of exercises that target deep neck muscles, offering some relief.
These are 5 simple exercises to fix your bad neck posture.
1. The Overhead Arm Reach
This simple exercise fixes your bad neck posture by targeting deep and superficial muscles of your neck, as well as some muscles around your shoulder and torso.
To perform this:
- Assume a comfortable position in a chair.
- Be sure that both your feet are flat on the ground.
- Raise your hand towards the ceiling (you should not flex your elbows), angling it down the left side of your body slowly. You should feel some stretching.
- Now, go on to the right hand and repeat the same.
- Over and over for a couple of minutes.
Watch a demonstration of overhead arm reach here.
Read: 10 Common Work from Home Ergonomic Hazards to Avoid
2. Shoulder Shrugs
These are just regular shrugs. Just deeper and more targeted. The muscle groups being targeted here are muscles along the neck and the shoulder like the trapezius muscle, the subclavius, etc.
- Stand erect with both your feet flat on the ground, your arms at your side.
- Make sure your gaze is right ahead.
- Now, begin to shrug. The shrugs should be deep and should go on for as many times as it takes for you to feel some pressure.
A video of shoulder shrugs on YouTube.
Read: 5 Exercises to Get Rid of Beer Belly
3. Chin Tucks
Chin tucks are quite a common exercise that involves a series of head movements that relieve pressure along the neck and back. The muscles targeted here are the deeper muscles of the neck, where most of the pressure is.
To do the chin tuck:
- Sit comfortably in a chair with your gaze directly in front of you.
- Put your finger on your chin.
- Stretch your head back until you feel some pressure.
- Hold still at the point where you feel the pressure for a couple of seconds.
- Return to the start position and continue.
A video of chin tuck exercise.
Read: 10 Important Functions Of The Spleen
4. Nods
Just like shrugs, nods are an easy-to-perform exercise. We nod every day. Maybe not as deep as required to offer relief from the discomfort of bad neck posture, but we do nod.
To perform deep nods:
- Get in the position described earlier when we spoke about shrugs. Stand effect.
- Feet flat on the ground.
- Hands beside you.
- Now, angle your neck backward (slowly) until you feel some stretching.
- Then pull your head forward once more. Slowly, too.
- Repeat the movements over and over until you get some relief.
Related: 5 Simple Exercises for Shoulder Pain Relief
5. Child Pose
The child pose works on a number of muscles in your upper body.
To perform this:
- Sit with your butt touching your heels.
- Lean forward with your arms outstretched.
- Remain like this for a couple of seconds, paying close attention to your breathing.
- Return to the start position and then start all over.
Watch a demonstration here.
Featured Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.
