Recently, I had horrible neck pain. It’s come and gone throughout my adult life. It started when I was rear-ended by a car in my 20’s. I did physical therapy afterward. Then, I was rear-ended again 10 years later while I was pregnant with my second son, so I had a second round of PT. After the most recent bout, I was finally able to pinpoint what was causing my neck problems: teaching virtually and aggressively for two years during the pandemic. I realized that I was tweaking my neck by looking at the camera and talking to the audience while simultaneously performing technical and complicated exercises. There was really no way around straining my neck during the fight to keep Mind the Mat alive. We needed to stay connected with our community. 

Even though we may be able to determine the cause of neck dysfunction, there are still three common factors that tend to exacerbate or cause our neck pain. If you suffer from bouts of pain or even constant neck problems, take a quick read, and practice these steps. Your neck will likely start to feel better in a few weeks and in some cases immediately. If it doesn’t, make sure you schedule an appointment with your physical therapist and download our new app, FitClinic, where we are launching specialized mobility and foundations classes.

1. Tight Pesky Pecs

Even though I preach this, I always seem to forget to address my tight pecs first. When your pecs are tight (they are on most of us!), they pull your shoulder blades out of position which in turn causes poor posture. As a result, the neck muscles tend to not function as well and can become painful. 

Solutions:

• Door Stretch: You have seen this plenty of times in Alexandria Stylebook. Find a standard door frame and line your forearms up so your elbows are at 90 degrees and your shoulders are at 90 degrees. Step forward with one foot and lean forward until you feel a stretch in your chest. Please note, you should not feel this in the front of your shoulders. 

• Yoga: From a movement aspect, yoga stretches all the tight muscles associated with bad posture, especially the pecs muscles. Plus, there is an added stress-relief benefit which will also help your neck pain. 

2. The Wrong Pillow

How many fancy expensive pillows do you have? I have a few brands of memory foam that almost broke the bank and guess what? My neck actually got worse.

Solutions:

• Inexpensive Flat Soft Pillow: This is the good news! You actually don’t need a specialized pillow, you need a flat moldable pillow that you can adjust to your comfort. Believe it or not, my favorite pillow is a $3 IKEA decorative pillow I bought 15 years ago. With two teenage boys in the house, it is currently missing, so I am on the hunt for another good find. But in the meantime, the next solution works too…

• Homemade Neck Roll: Grab a soft hand towel and roll it up to your desired thickness depending on what is comfortable for your neck. Secure each end with hair ties. Place it under your neck either on top of your flat pillow or without the pillow. Your neck should be comfortable immediately. If not, change the thickness of the roll and keep testing.

3. Poor Mechanics: This is a general reason why certain neck muscles become overactive and strained, causing pain and discomfort, while other muscles are lengthened and become weak. We call this neck dysfunction. Think of me straining my neck while filming virtual Pilates classes…poor mechanics!

Strengthening Solutions:

• Deep Neck Flexion: In this exercise, we are targeting what we call “the abdominals of the neck” as they are the deep stabilizers of the cervical spine or your neck vertebrae. Start by lying flat on your bed if that is comfortable. Keep your mouth closed to align your jaw. Exhale, carefully draw your chin to the center of your neck making a tiny arc in that direction hold for 5 seconds then release. Practice for 30 to 60 seconds every other day for a few weeks building up your motor control and eventually strength in the deep neck muscles.

• Isometrics: Standing tall and lengthening your spine up toward the ceiling, place your hand on your forehead and apply slight pressure. Match that pressure back with your forehead. Nothing moves, hold for 10 seconds and release. Repeat 10 to 20 times on each side of the head so you are getting all four directions, front, back, and both sides. Don’t forget to breathe!