Neck Pain Exercises

Hello, everyone! I am Hardianty Andi Munawarah Abduh. But you can call me Dian. Have

you ever experienced neck pain? In this presentation, I am going to show you how to do self-

exercises for releasing neck pain. After this presentation, I hope you will understand how to

do neck pain exercises, I’ll cover three main points. First, I would like to explain a little

background about neck pain. Second, I will tell you how to prevent neck pain. Finally, I am

going to explain neck pain exercises. I will be happy to answer any questions after my

presentation.

Let’s begin by a little background about neck pain. There are three things that cause neck

pain: a pinched nerve, muscle spasm/non-specific neck pain, and trauma (Binder, 2007). The

kind of neck pain that I am going to talk about is non-specific neck pain. In 2014, Hanvold

and fellow researchers reported that non-specific neck pain is a common medical disorder

with a pathophysiology that is comparatively unknown. It generally affects young adults

(Hurwitz et al., 2018) and is caused by activities, such as carrying a backpack, or using a

computer and cellphone, for prolonged periods of time with poor posture (Williams et al.,

2009). The symptoms of non-specific neck pain are sharp pain, limited mobility, and even

tension headache (Hoy et al., 2014). I have told you about what neck pain is and how it

affects people.

Next, I would like to tell you how to prevent neck pain. The first point that must be

considered is an ergonomic sitting position when working in front of a computer. As you can

see in this slide, this is the perfect posture when sitting in front of a computer. Next, take a

break for five minutes and do neck exercises. Regarding the neck exercise, I will tell you
more detail in the next point. Third, use a proper pillow when you are sleeping (Yeomans et

al., 2016). That is all I have to say about how to prevent neck pain.

Now, we will move to how to do exercises when you are suffering from neck pain. There are

two types of exercises that can be performed in a sitting position. The first exercise is the

simple stretches without doing anything except moving your head and stretching the muscles.

Firstly, bring your chin down to your chest slowly and then hold it for about 8 seconds. After

that, look back up towards to the ceiling and also hold it for 8 seconds with 5 repetitions.

Secondly, bend your neck to the right side slowly but don’t lift your shoulder. Do it for 8

seconds with 5 repetitions and then go back to the other side with the same frequency and

repetition. Finally, turn your head slowly to the right side, as if you are looking over your

shoulder, and then turn back to the other side. Also, do it for 8 seconds on each side with 5

repetitions. Moreover, the second exercise is an overpressure exercise to stretch while using

your hand. Firstly, put your right hand underneath your bottom and pull your shoulder down.

After that, put another hand on the top towards the opposite way and pull over to the left side

for 30 seconds while taking some deep breaths. Then, do the same thing on the other side.

Secondly, put your right hand to the back of your neck and put the other hand on the back of

your head and pull it down almost at a 45-degree angle. Do it for 30 seconds while taking

some deep breaths as well. And then, do the same thing on the other side. That’s all about

neck exercises for relieving pain.

Let me briefly summarize what we have looked at today. I covered three main points about

neck pain exercises. First, I provided a little background about neck pain. Please remember

that non-specific neck pain is a common medical condition that is unclear or unknown in

pathophysiology. Next, I told you about how to prevent neck pain. I hope you remember that
sitting ergonomically, taking a break while working, and using a proper pillow for sleeping

are important things to prevent neck pain. Finally, we looked at how to do neck exercises

properly. Let me remind you there are two types of exercises that can be done in sitting

position. Those were simple exercise and overpressure exercises. Thank you for listening. Do

you have any questions?

 References

Binder, A. (2007). The diagnosis and treatment of nonspecific neck pain and whiplash. Eura

Medicophys, 43(1):79-89. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17369782/

Hanvold, T. N., Wærsted, M., Mengshoel, A. M., Bjertness, E., Twisk, J., & Veiersted, K. B.

(2014). A longitudinal study on risk factors for neck and shoulder pain among

young adults in the transition from technical school to working life. Scandinavian

Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 40(6), 597–609.

https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3437 

Hoy, D., March, L., Woolf, A., Blyth, F., Brooks, P., Smith, E., Vos, T., Barendregt, J.,

Blore, J., Murray, C., Burstein, R., & Buchbinder, R. (2014). The global burden

of neck pain: Estimates from the global burden of disease 2010 study. Annals of

the Rheumatic Diseases, 73(7), 1309–1315. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-

2013-204431 

Hurwitz, E. L., Randhawa, K., Yu, H., Côté, P., & Haldeman, S. (2018). The Global Spine

Care Initiative: A summary of the global burden of low back and neck pain

studies. European Spine Journal, 27(0123456789), 796–801.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-017-5432-9

Williams, L., Quinette, A. L., Lynette, C. C., & K., Grimmer-Somers. (2009). Prevalence of

Neck Pain and Headaches: Impact of Computer Use and Other Associative
 Factors. Cephalalgia, 29(2):250-7. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-

2982.2008.01714.x

Yeomans, S. (2016). 10 Tips to Prevent Neck Pain. SPAIN-health. https://www.spine-

health.com/blog/10-tips-prevent-neck-pain