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By Dale Green

In a society with computers, TVs, cell phones, or other activities that make us slouch, many people suffer from neck, upper back and shoulder pain. Most of the time, the culprit of neck pain is poor posture. When a person spends a lot of time looking at a computer, reading, doing paperwork, looking at their cell phone, playing video games, or watching TV, they have a tendency to protrude their head forward and round their shoulders and upper back. This poor posture leads to poor biomechanics of the cervical spine (bones of the neck) and puts a lot of strain on the muscles of the neck, shoulders and upper back. (See picture) This may lead to increased muscle tension and spasms, arthritis, bone spurs, disc degeneration, headaches, and even pain and/or numbness going down the arm(s).

To decrease your pain and prevent it from occurring in the future, it is important to work on improving your posture and relaxing the muscles of the neck. The following exercises can help.

NOTE: These are basic exercises for the neck. It is very important that if you try any of these exercises and they hurt, stop doing them. The exercises should never hurt. A feeling of stretch is good, but not pain. If you have pain going down either of your arms, then you should immediately consult a doctor.

	Supine Cervical Rotations To help with relaxation, mobility of the spine and stretching of the muscles. Lie on back with head on one pillow. Move the head to one side going as far as you can WITHOUT causing pain. Stretch is OK, but pain is not. Once there, delay for about two seconds and then gradually move the head as far as you can to the other side. Repeat this 15 times.
	Supine Axial Extension To help strengthen and stretch the muscles of the back of the neck. Supine axial extension – to help strengthen and stretch the muscles of the back of the neck Lie on back with head on one pillow. Gently press your head straight back into the pillow with a light to medium pressure. Do not lift your chin or tuck it down. Your face should stay parallel with the bed. This should not hurt. Hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 – 15 times.
	Chin Tucks in the Doorway To help strengthen and stretch the muscles of the back of the neck. Stand in a doorway with your back at the door jam. Your feet should be about 4-6 inches from the door jam and your tailbone, upper back, and the back of your head should be touching the door jam. Gently tuck in your chin, sliding your head upwards on the door jam. You may feel a stretch in the base of the head region. This should not hurt. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 10-15 times.
	Upper Trap Stretch To stretch the side of the neck and upper shoulder region. Sitting in a chair, grasp the edge of the chair and tilt your head away toward the other side. Feel the stretch, but do not cause any pain. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat 3 times. Do this to both sides.
	Levator Scapula Stretch To stretch the side and back portion of the neck and upper shoulder region. Sitting in a chair, grasp the edge of the chair and tilt your head away toward the other side, while also turning your head and looking toward the opposite armpit. Use your free hand to grasp the top of your head to pull toward that armpit. Feel the stretch, but do not cause any pain. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat 3 times. Do this to both sides.
	Shoulder Blade Squeeze with a Chin Tuck To strengthen the upper back and neck muscles. While sitting, squeeze your shoulder blades together while at the same time tucking your chin in and back. Do not let the shoulders rise up and do not tuck the chin in too hard. It should not cause pain. Hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 – 15 times.