Neck pain is quite common, especially with postural strain due to prolonged computer use, “text-neck“, injury or trauma to the neck etc. The postural strain sets us up for a weaker neck core. You’ve seen this rounded shoulders “slumped posture”. This posture involves tight pectoral muscles, tight suboccipitals (muscles at the base of the skull), upper traps and levators, stretched weak lower-trapezium/rhomboids, and right in the middle, a weak neck core.
Why is this bad? Well, this isn’t your ideal posture because your head and vertebrae shift forward and this imbalance places greater stress on your spine, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, predisposing you to pain and degenerative changes (arthritis).
How can chin tucks help?
Neck-core
Chin tucks are a way to re-activate the deep neck core flexors (longus capitis/colli muscles) that support your spine. When the neck core has endurance, it lasts longer to support the structures that help support your head, creating less muscle strain of the more superficial muscles like the upper traps.
Like with any exercise, there are progressions. You need to start out with the basics and then increase the level of difficulty/resistance. In this blog, we will start with a basic chin tuck. If you experience pain while attempting this, please email Dr. Maria Davidovic to arrange your initial chiropractic visit or follow-up to ensure you aren’t re-aggravating any underlying issue.
Chin tucks: Pull your head straight back keepings eyes and jaw leveled and hold for 5 seconds, then release. Do 10-15 repetitions slowly and you can do 2-3 sets per day.
If you would like to learn more about how to improve your posture, feel free to email dr.mdavidovic@gmail.com or call 416-906-0767 to arrange an appointment with Dr. Maria.