Top Tips for Neck & Shoulder Pain

Is your neck overworking and stopping you doing chest lifts (sit-ups) in class?

You’re not alone.

It’s a common problem brought about by the under-use of stabilising muscles in daily life. In Leith Pilates classes we teach our clients to bolster their upper body when lying down, this reduces the use of those tight neck muscles. This means you can learn to turn on the correct muscles and eventually the neck muscles realise they are not needed. Here are three things you can do when you’re not in class to stop that happening:

TIP ONE -WALK SLOWER AND MORE ALIGNED

When you activate your neck muscles in class they are trying to repeat the alignment you use all day. Which is usually jutting your head forward. People whose necks take over in class are the classic fast walkers, leaning and falling as they walk instead of pushing off from the back foot. Slow down your walk and keep you head over your hips, not jutting forward.

We do regular walking workshops at our studio where I’ll take you through the correct walking form - muscle by muscle.

TIP TWO - ASSESS YOUR WORK STATION

As well as walking with your head forward you probably sitting with you head forward at work. So if you want to stop your neck being in charge then stop putting it in charge during the day.

Remember pelvic neutral is only part of the equation. You need shoulder and head neutral as well. Watch this video to see how to keep your pelvis neutral and then watch the next one to see how to incorporate that into your work space..

TIP THREE - LOOK AT YOUR SLEEPING ARRANGEMENT

Yes, eyesight and computers are an easy starting point when making changes to release your neck and should tension but so is how you sleep and what you sleep on. Comfort deforms the body and ironically creates discomfort in the end. Do you grind your teeth? All these issues need to be looked at when dealing with neck pain.