Exercise therapy is used to treat many diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Simple and safe exercise saves us from various illnesses. What exactly to do if your neck hurts? In this case, exercises come to the rescue of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
The neck is one of the most vulnerable places
The neck is really very vulnerable and requires careful handling. Through it pass the vessels that feed the brain, as well as the nerves, through which the signals that regulate our activity (motor activity, for example) enter the body.
Our neck is tense most of the day, as its muscles have to continually hold the head, whose mass reaches 2 kg or more. Normally, the musculature does its job. But add to that the awkward and irregular postures we tend to adopt, the prolonged immobility. We load muscles unevenly, depriving them of rest and obstructing the blood supply.
The first problems with the cervical spine arise precisely because of the excessive tiredness of the neck muscles. Typical symptoms are muscle fatigue and leakage. This primary problem is solved with a simple massage, which I'll talk about a little later.
People often don't pay attention to these symptoms, so we're talking about treating a problem that has turned into a disease - cervical osteochondrosis.
Hence the importance of charging for the neck with osteochondrosis.
How physiotherapy can save you from pain
With the development of the acute phase of cervical osteochondrosis, it is first necessary to remove the painful syndrome. When the pain symptoms disappear, you can start treatment with exercise therapy. This is a set of exercises for cervical osteochondrosis, which includes a series of head movements, including isometric neck exercises.
Gymnastics for the neck with osteochondrosis is mandatory. Without it, the treatment will not have the desired effect. In fact, without a strong muscular corset, the spine will continue to suffer from the vertical pressure of gravity.
The natural cause of all spinal disorders is gravity. Its vector is perpendicular to the Earth's surface. Now let's imagine what will happen to the column if this load presses it not strictly vertically. For example, this happens when we are bent over, sitting at the table, immersed in different roles.
The neck is bent, tilted 45 degrees from the vertical, if averaged. Due to the gravity of the head, there is a slight diagonal displacement of the vertebrae in relation to each other. Intervertebral cartilages suffer an unusual load for them, over time they are effaced and deformed.
Normally, even this position is compensated for by strong muscles in the neck, but what strong muscles can we talk about when a person barely moves? That is the problem.
If we delve into this issue, then nutrition, more precisely, the lack of joint-forming substances in food complicates the situation. The cartilage tissue is already slowly renewing itself, and if the body does not have the necessary substances, it will have nothing to renew itself.
Therefore, the root cause of osteochondrosis is gravity. But strong muscles can disrupt this process. This means that weak neck muscles are already a secondary cause of osteochondrosis. Hence the conclusion: if cervical osteochondrosis has already started, exercise will help solve this problem.
Exercise therapy strengthens the muscles in the neck, relieves pinching and improves blood circulation. This is an effective method for treating osteochondrosis and preventing its progression in the future.
Thus, the problem can be solved by acting comprehensively on all the reasons for its appearance:
- Strengthen your neck muscles with exercises for osteochondrosis. Exercises for cervical osteochondrosis will be provided below.
- Avoid incorrect postures and sit for a long time in one place.
- Eat special joint supplements or develop a complete diet for yourself.
It's better to do it all at the same time.
In addition to osteochondrosis, another unpleasant thing can happen to the neck - hypothermia. In that case, no amount of exercise will help until the inflammation goes away. Do not delay treatment for too long.
And another option, limited head mobility. In this case, it is necessary to carefully knead the neck and make it for the neck with osteochondrosis to the extent that allows the movement to be performed without pain.
about dizziness
The thinning of the intervertebral discs in the cervical spine leads to the fact that the nerve endings can be pinched. In addition to nerves, blood vessels also suffer. This leads to a lack of oxygen supply to the brain and manifests itself in the form of dizziness. There are other symptoms - headache.
There are also exercises for dizziness with cervical osteochondrosis. In fact, they are the same as in osteochondrosis. Its meaning is to stretch the contracted muscles, strengthen them, free the nerves and blood vessels from the clamps.
In general, any exercise for osteochondrosis (without loads) improves blood circulation throughout the body, including more intense blood exchange between the body and the head. Our brain gets more nutrition and oxygen, and this affects productivity.
Resistance exercise is not recommended for cervical osteochondrosis. They will definitely not save you from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, but they may accelerate the process of cartilage degradation.
For various spinal conditions, weight lifting exercises generally must be performed very carefully. Depending on the disease, movements that provide a vertical load to the spine, back flexion, and so on may be excluded.
How long to do exercise therapy?
Human laziness has no limits. We often stop studying as soon as the problem disappears. A person is dedicated to fitness while losing weight. Once he achieves the desired result, everything stops. With illnesses, this approach is not only ineffective, but also fraught with disease recurrence.
For the prevention of cervical osteochondrosis, you need to periodically deal with the neck. This is easily done at home. Also, it doesn't take a lot of time. The process is very pleasant - the feeling of warmth and relaxation in your muscles won't keep you waiting.
You can also buy a neck brace and wear it during acute periods. But there are some subtleties here. Having become accustomed to artificial support, you can live a lifetime because the corset holds the head instead of the muscles. And that's not helpful for the cervical spine. As a result, the muscles finally lose their tone.
The therapeutic effect of exercise against cervical osteochondrosis lasts from 2 weeks to a month. If you stop exercising as soon as your muscles lose tone again, you run the risk of headaches and difficulty turning your head again. Therefore, exercises to strengthen the neck muscles in this case play a big role in maintaining comfort.
So decide - do exercises for osteochondrosis or not.
neck gym complex
It is better not to do any exercise with exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis. Your doctor should treat acute symptoms first. After all, if it hurts to move your head, all gymnastics will be painful.
The most effective exercises for cervical osteochondrosis are very simple: head movements plus isometric muscle tension. Everything is done very simply - at home, at work, on the road.
Here is an approximate set of exercises (let's agree that the starting position is to sit upright, hands on knees):
- In the starting position, gently rotate your head to the right until it stops and then to the left. Feel the muscles in your neck tense. The nuance here is this: turn your head and try to turn a little more without shaking, hold this tension for 5 seconds. In general, any spinal exercise should start with exercises to strengthen your neck muscles. This includes developing your flexibility and strength. Make 5 turns in each direction.
- Now tilt your head to the side so that your ear is close to your shoulder. No need to lift your shoulder! As with the previous movement, hold the tension. If you have a flexible neck, use your hands to bring your ear to your shoulder. If it hurts, do the movements with painless amplitude! Perform 5 left and right turns.
- Now make circular motions with your head clockwise and counterclockwise. 8 moves in each direction. Slowly! You can hold your head with your hands. This is an effective gymnastics for neck osteochondrosis.
- The warm-up is over and now the strength exercises: place your right hand on your right temple. Try to tilt your head to the right and with your hand avoid this movement. Make an effort to make it heavy, but your head is moving in the right direction. 10 times in each direction (to move left, use the other hand respectively).
- Now hold your head from behind (occipital region) and, with the resistance of your hands, try to tilt the back of your head back 5 times and then move your head back 5 times in a horizontal plane. It will be released 10 times in total.
- Now rest your palms on your forehead and tilt your head down through the resistance of your hands (pull your chin towards your chest). Do this 10 times and then move your head horizontally forward through the resistance (like doves when walking).
- And finally, you can stretch the trapezius by raising and lowering your shoulders. High - delayed for 2-3 seconds (pull up), low - relaxed. Do 10 reps.
- Pull your neck in different directions, gymnastics is over. Do all this once a day. This is an excellent neck exercise for osteochondrosis.
What other exercises can you do? For example, by the flexibility of the neck. They are also exercises for the muscles of the neck, but they also pull on the hamstrings. This will make your neck more flexible.
Additional Exercises for Flexibility
This exercise should be performed not only with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, but also, in principle, in early 30-40 years. At this age, muscle fiber breakdown begins, the loss of flexibility is gaining momentum especially fast if you don't get involved in your fitness.
- Extend your chin to your chest, support your head with your hands.
- Use your hands to tilt your head to the side so that your ear touches your shoulder. Stretch the side of your neck with your hand.
That's enough. And remember what you can't do with cervical osteochondrosis - deal with the pain.
massage elements
When your head aches or your neck is stiff, you can squeeze and massage the muscles.
To remember:
- The muscle that holds our head is attached to the back of the head. Run your index and middle fingers over the muscle from the back of the head and down, applying moderate pressure (so it doesn't hurt, but it feels good). Move this muscle to shoulder level.
- Now we feel the trapezoids with our hands and crush them. The trapezius is located between the neck and shoulder at the back. After such simple manipulations, you seem to be reborn.
Among other things, make sure your neck doesn't blow. After the massage, she is warm and more vulnerable to the cold than ever.
And finally, we remind you that, although cervical osteochondrosis manifests itself acutely, it is not necessary to perform therapeutic exercises.
In summary: if you do the exercises listed in the article, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine will not disappear completely (after all, the cartilage is already damaged), but the condition will visibly improve, the tweezers, the pain symptoms will go away, or the disease will stop progressing. So, you can forget about this unpleasant illness and live a full life.
But remember that neck exercises for osteochondrosis should be done regularly.