A stretch that your neck will love! The levator scapulae, upper trapezius, paraspinals, and suboccipitals will be getting stretched with this lovely maneuver. With the above stretch, it is important to remember to do it gently. There is no need to crank your head down - that can result in more guarding. Stretches on their own are often not the solution to eliminating the pain forever. In some instances, doing a single stretch can resolve the issue for a long time, however, for a majority of people a stretch offers temporary relief (a few minutes, a few hours, or a day), then the tightness comes back. This stretch can be helpful for providing you with some relief while you are working, driving for long periods, or to allow you to do the things that will ultimately make the biggest difference - strengthen and move. Often, if we feel that a muscle is tight, we immediately try to stretch it. We find ourselves doing this for weeks or months without long-term relief. If this sounds like you, then it is time to work on strengthening the muscles instead. “But won’t strengthening a muscle make it tighter!??!?!” No. “Tightness” is most often a neurological response and usually a result of weakness around the joint. The body senses that you don’t have much strength around the joint and can respond by increasing the stretch reflex and “locking things down.” This creates the sensation of tightness. Sitting tall, reaching the top of your head to the ceiling, and gently pressing your hand into the front, sides, and back of your head while resisting movement is a great and safe place to start strengthening. Hold this for 5-30 seconds in each direction. Isometric exercises are generally a great place to start when there is pain. Doing this simple move each day can be a quick way to offer long-term neck pain relief. #neckstretch #necktightness #neckflexibility #traptightness #tighttrap #neckmobility #neckstrength #headache #neckpain #neckache #cervicalpain #levatorscapulae #trapezius #paraspinals #heds #eds #hypermobility