Thursday, February 21, 2008

What a Pain in the Neck! Stretches to Keep Your Head Held High

For most people, the neck is a lightning rod for stress. Traffic, job issues, cranky children —it’s amazing that the tension created by frustrations such as these are stored in that tiny little area above your shoulders and below your head. The movement of the head and neck is very complex and involves many muscles working together. To keep it simple, focus on four of those muscles: Upper trapezius (truh-pee-zee-uhs), sternocleidomastoid (stur-nohklahy-duh-mas-toid), scalenes (skey-leens), and levator scapula (li-vey-ter skap-yuh-luh).

These are the muscles that, when not taken care of, literally become a pain in the neck. Regularly stretching the muscles of your neck can reduce pain and tightness that if left unchecked can lead to headaches, chronic stiffness, limited range of motion, and even carpal tunnel syndrome. The stretches in this section may even prevent pain altogether.

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