Neck Posture Help

Poor posture habits can result in muscle strain and a painful neck.

Have a pain in the neck? It could be your posture. Here's a few neck-posture tips that will help ease your pain and, hopefully, prevent it from coming back.

Proper Neck Posture

Proper neck posture can ease pain and prevent injury.

If you develop bad neck posture habits, such as slumping your shoulders, it can cause your neck to force your head to come forward unnaturally. To combat this, tuck in your chin very slightly by pulling your head straight back, keeping your jaw and eyes level. Or you can visualize a string gently tugging straight up from the top of your head.

Neck Exercises

Gently stretching your neck and shoulders helps ease tension and improve posture.

Simple range-of-motion exercises can improve your neck posture. Stand with your shoulders relaxed, then slowly turn your head all the way to the left, then all the way to the right, then all the way up, and all the way down. Next, drop your ear toward your shoulder, keeping your shoulder relaxed, then reverse. Repeat two or three times. If any of these hurt or cause numbness, stop doing the exercise and consult a medical professional.

Support Your Neck

Choose the proper pillow to support your neck.

Continually support improvements in your neck posture by practicing the chin-tuck exercise throughout the day. Learn proper lifting and stress-reduction techniques to prevent muscle tension or injury. Make sure your pillow provides enough support for your neck. If you sleep on your back, your pillow shouldn't jut your head forward. If you sleep on your side, the pillow should keep your head from sinking toward your shoulder.

References

• Guide to Neck Pain Prevention
• Causes and Treatment Of Neck Pain
• Interview with physical therapist Thomas Kingsley

Resources

• Selecting the Proper Pillow
• Posture for a Healthy Back